Turkey Travel: Blue Sky Blue Mosque at Istanbul
Second day of the trip and we are going to visit the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul. On the way to the Blue Mosque, we saw an obelisk. It's called Obelisk of Theodosius. For a moment, I thought we have teleported to Egypt. Hehe.
The obelisk is located near to another historical spot in Istanbul, the ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople. The entrance to the Blue Mosque is located just opposite the hippodrome.
As there is a quota of how many people can enter the Blue Mosque, we have to wait for a while for our turn in the courtyard. Do note that there are certain rules that you must follow before you can enter Blue Mosque. For a start, you have to take off your shoes and put them inside a plastic bag (provided for free at the entrance). Another thing, women must wear head covering inside the mosque (not hat, more like fabric or shawl).
The mosque has a lot of windows and they look so pretty when the sunlight shines on them. The tour guide told us that most of these colored windows have been replaced with newer and more modern versions and not the original ones.
The roof and the walls are made from handmade ceramic tiles. Awesome, right?
Blue Mosque is located just opposite the Hagia Sophia Museum. So you should visit these two historical places of Istanbul at one go to save time.