Blue Mosque

Easily my favorite spot in Istanbul so far is the Sultanahmet Camii, also known as the Blue Mosque, that occupies the spot directly across from the entrance to Aya Sofya. Equally beautiful inside and out, it gets its nickname from the mostly blue Iznik tiles that decorate its interior. I spent a good deal of time on the first day enjoying the shady spots in the courtyard and relaxing in the public area of the interior. After hearing the tour guides for both the English and Arabic speaking tour groups, I have to admit the Arabic groups received much better information. Any tour guide that goes into how the construction of the mosque fit into the finances of the empire in the period after the death of Suleyman gets an A. I did get some funny looks for listening in, but I still can't tell if this was because they were wondering if I understood any of the Arabic or because I was very obviously eavesdropping on a tour that I didn't pay for! I enjoyed this area so much I used my little free time Sunday morning for a return trip through interior and bought my first all Arabic Quran in the little bookstore outside its walls. That will be my next big reading project if I can find some time around my upcoming general exams. Many of the places in Sultanahmet were beautiful, but this is probably the one that I will make a point to return to every time I go back to Istanbul.