The Haghia Sophia, as seen from the Blue Mosque.
The Blue Mosque is just blue and very sterile. It was so crowded that we went in for a pictures and then quickly left. Frankly mosques are beginning to bore me. It's quite disconcerting that every church now has minarets sticking from off of it being converted into mosques. You take off your shoes before entering but because there were so many pairs of shoes, you had to carry your own shoes. Mosques are very sterile places. They're not like a church where one can see bible stories in mosaics or frescoes. I like Istanbul for its cheap and delicious food. I've been to more atmospheric Muslim cities so I wasn't very impressed. It is an obligatory visit, former Byzantium but one can't tell anymore. To really enjoy Turkey one needs to go further east to small villages where old Anatolian life is still present. Even the western coastal cities are very westernized and hosts a lot of visitors.
The Haghia Sophia, as seen from the Blue Mosque.
2 comments:
Fabulous photos. I hope to get there one day!
Islamic art and architecture avoids the literalism of Christianity in creating places of the spirit. You are seeking something which was never intended to be in these places. It is as if you were visiting the great Zen rock garden of Ryoanji and asking where the statue of David was. Please make an attempt to connect with the aesthetic force of this culture when you visit a place such as Istanbul.
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