There are giant and not so giant mosques all over Istanbul. But, to put that in context Istanbul is the largest city in Europe with nearly 16 million folks.
Hagia Sophia is probably the most famous of them, built about 360 AD. Next to it is the Blue Mosque, built around 1609. The Blue Mosque is closed for renovations. I attempted a couple of times to visit Hagia Sophia. But, being the number one tourist destination the line was as always in the hundreds. I wasn’t going to stand in line for hours.
Instead I went to the Mosque of Suleymaniye the Magnificent, built about 1550. There was no line. It’s a pretty darn impressive structure.
Some pics of same….
Earth quake damage?
Spalling due to compression?
Some door details:
Interiors…
This was fun. On one side of the building there’s this sign. So, you walk to the opposite side and, yes, there is the same sign. The tourist entrance is on the side between the two sides with signs:
