The Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque was wicked cool. but less blue than I thought it would be. It was only the second mosque I'd ever been in, the first being next to a huge road in Azerbaijan.

The Blue Mosque is built across the way from Aya Sofia, and the dude who had it built wanted to one-up Aya Sofia, a classic case of keeping up with the Joneses. It's not as big, but it is a mosque, not a church, and many people think it's more beautiful and architecturally impressive than Aya Sofia. One thing's for sure, the dome hasn't fallen in yet.

Basing judgements on the exterior, which is again not blue but an impressive progression of domes and half domes, I thought the mosque would be full of different rooms to wander through, and I would eventually be led into the center beneath the main dome.

Instead, it is one massive open room, with the main dome over the center and half domes and smaller domes around the perimeter. A shitload of electric lights were suspended from the ceiling, making an interesting visual effect with all the wires and cables hanging down. I couldn't decide if it ruined the view of the gorgeous stained glass windows lining the main dome and all of the intricate tile work and Arabic calligraphy, or if they created their own interesting visual pattern in the space the cables fell through.

Most of the enormous room was gated off to infidels like myself, who had to use a side entrance separate from the Muslim entrance. Everyone had to take off their shoes and put them into a bag and ladies were given large skirts and scarves to cover up their foreign immodesty.

Turkey is reportedly 99% Muslim, clearly a number that just represents the fact that only 1% of the population identify as Christian or Jew or whatever, and everyone else just becomes Muslim by default.

There were foreign Muslims milling about on the carpets, Korean tour-groups sitting cross-legged in a circle listening to their guide, exchange students barely adhering to modesty regulations, and plenty of Turkish tourists all craning their neck upwards toward the massive dome and running their eyes over the insanely intricate and beautiful tile patterns in their geometric splendor.

Upon entry, you can take a free pamphlet entitled "What is Islam?" A few of the highlights:

"...the verses of the Qur'an are never found to contradict modern science."
Yeah, I bet it's just as spot-on as the bible.

"Allah is not indifferent to this world."
AIDS, cancer, racism, pain, and war are all part of the plan, don't worry.

Paying tithes is a "a purification of one's wealth."
Funny how many supreme entities need some cash.

Everyone is "naturally inclined toward Islam before birth."
Oh really?

It all makes about as much sense as other religions' claims. One certainly can't argue about religion's ability to construct awe-inspiring buildings though.

This place definitely warrants multiple visits. B,est part of the Blue Mosque? Free entry.