Sunday morning we had half a day to roam the city before heading back to London. We first went to the Blue Mosque, which has free entry for tourists. We had to take off our shoes before going inside, as it is still used as place of worship. I would have to say the building looks much larger from the outside, and the interior was just one giant room covered in a plush red carpet with lots of padding (it was kind of like being on a bouncy floor—nice for the knees of those devout Muslims). The only things on the ground were a few bookcases here and there, one pulpit, and some railings. Tourists are not allowed in the mosque during prayer times, but I could just picture hundreds of men on their knees praying to Allah. What was also interesting to see what the way they lit the mosque. Instead of having lights on the pillars or high in the numerous domes, the massive expanse was filled with thousands of strings hanging from the ceilings. On the end of each of these strings was a light bulb, so the mosque was illuminated by lights hanging about 20 feet above the floor. It made for an interesting aesthetic.
After the mosque I headed over to the Basilica Cistern, which is an underground chamber that used to house the water supply for the important places in the city (somehow they had to keep the gardens of the Topkapi Palace green). It’s pretty much just a massive room about 30 feet underground that is held up by hundreds of thick pillars. The ground is covered in three feet of water (they have built walkways above the water for tourists) and there are now fish swimming around in the pool. I was impressed at the ancient ingenuity and the sheer size of the room. Without the modern lights it would have been completely dark and even today it’s not that well lit. It was damp, dark and quite eerie.
Picture: Lights hanging from the domes of the Blue Mosque
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