The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque)

HDR photo (taken with a Nikon D90 using the kit lens) of the Blue Mosque at night.

I’d been in the air and on the road long enough that I smelled when I landed in Turkey.  Unshaved, unwashed, I trekked the cobblestone roads of Istanbul alongside the fancy-pants cafes wondering if I stood out as bad as I imagined. My travel buddy didn’t notice, or was classy enough to not mention it.  The locals all dressed like models.

India, where I'd just arrived from, is an unusual place that makes people unusual.  Istanbul was something else. I never did figure out exactly what.

Our priorities that day weren't complicated: drink Turkish coffee, smoke sheesha, see sights. 

Turkish coffee, if you've never had it, comes to you in a cup not much bigger than a thimble--but scoff not. You only drink the top of it; the caffeine-ladden sludge at the bottom can presumably be eaten, but I'd suggest leaving it alone. The soapy-coffee flavor isn't unpleasant, but it liquefied my bowels real good. 

Caffeine highs carried us to the Blue Mosque.

History buffs can really get lost in the temporal play of Turkey. Structures stand here erected by hands centuries dead now. Construction of the Blue Mosque began around 1609.  Renovations have kept it pretty fresh looking.

In the picture above, you're looking at the mosque from the court.  People wash their feet in the smaller structure in the center of the court because Allah really likes Himself some cleanliness. 

In this shot, you're looking at the same court but the picture is taken from the opposite side, in the corner with the mosque along the left. 

The tiles lining the interior walls are predominantly bluish, hence the title 'Blue Mosque'.  Interestingly, during the construction of the mosque, there was quite a bit of inflation (an historical constant, apparently), yet the price paid for each tile had been negotiated ahead of time, and didn't change. Consequently, the quality of the tiles decrease the higher they are in the mosque, and the blues have turned to green.  Still, the interior is truly amazing.

Abeautiful girl who wanted me to take her picture inside the mosque and E-mail it to her. I'm not sure that I got her E-mail right. If you know her, send her to my blog so she can collect her picture.