Outside the Blue Mosque

Our first stop in Istanbul after a nice breakfast was the famous Blue Mosque. It is called the Blue Mosque because of the incredible mosaics which cover the interior. This building is enormous and absolutely stunning. I had not been inside a mosque before, and was not to sure what to expect. However, they are very used to tourists and it even provided nice cloths to cover up with in order to be appropriately dressed. This was lucky for me since my outfit that day didn’t cover my shoulders! Sorry I look so tired in this picture!

In front of one of the giant pillars in the mosque

It was a challenge to take good photos because it was not very brightly lit, but the space was so gorgeous I persevered and got a few good shots.

Lights in the mosque

Tiled ceiling

Beautiful!

The outside was beautiful as well

Writing in the courtyard

It is an enormous building!

More of the courtyard

The New Mosque

 

The New Mosque

The second mosque we went to see was the New Mosque (which is not actually very new – we saw a plaque saying it was built between 1597 and 1663). We wandered around the courtyard in this one, but didn’t actually go inside since we were feeling a bit touristed out and the weather was starting to be blisteringly hot. Again, it was so, so beautiful.

I loved all the blue tilework

Everything is beautifully decorated

This was just the beginning of our time in Istanbul, but already to me the city felt very much like a fairytale. It was busy, but didn’t have the kind of crazy crowds I had expected. The buildings and the history are intense and there is so much to see. It is one of the most magical places we have visited.