Mosques - lots of mosques...mosqued out. And farewell to the John Greengo girls...

I find myself in increasingly sympathy (if that's the right word) for the women of Islam who have to cover themselves up to the nth degree to satisfy the pathetic demands of men who cannot cope with their own urges.  It's warm in these buildings, and it's October.
My guide was keen that I point out that women in Turkey are not like Arab women.  They do NOT dress head to toe in black.  Any such women in my photos are visitors, tourists from Saudi or Kuwait. And there are lots of them!  It's evidently a popular destination for Arabs.  Enough said.
Our schedule on our second full day included two more mosques:  Rustem Pasha, and Suleyman.  The first was built for a minister (pasha) - actually, the Grand Vizier to Suleyman 1, who was the longest reigning and most successful of the Ottoman sultans.  He also happened to be married to one of the sultan's daughters.  He overreached himself (not exactly a new situation) and it's clear from the opulence of the decoration of this mosque that he was salting a goodly amount away from his dealings.  You have to walk upstairs through a passageway from the Spice Bazaar to reach the courtyard, and the big surprise is the gorgeous tiling.  Blue, highly ornate and quality tiles from Iznik cover all the walls, using flowers, patterns and intricate vine traceries in shades of blue and white, with a little red.  The effect is impressive.  It's also quite light.
If anyone hasn't read The Architect's Apprentice, some of these characters come up in that book and I intend to reread it.  Sinan the architect built an amazing number of the iconic buildings in this city and is everywhere remembered as a genius and a good man.  What a marvellous epitaph.

So, Sinan also built Suleyman's mosque, which as befitting a ruler known as 'the Magnificent', was on a massive scale, and had the added kudos of being an entire community complex, which included a soup kitchen for the poor of any religious background in Istanbul, a school, a stabling/overnight rest place (Karavanserey) for travellers and their animals/goods, a hospital and library, as well as the mosque, the cemetery, and later the resting place of Sultans. Recycling from Roman times included the Hippodrome columns which supported the 'royal box' for the aristocrats of Rome to watch the chariot racing.  

The ceiling is double the height of the diameter of the building, so it feels quite airy and bright.

Nahide had some extra know-how as always, and sneaked us up to a vantage point which is above the entryway to the University, which is just across from the gardens and graveyard side of the site.  From there you get a great view of the complex.  Above's the view I snapped through a handy hole in the wall....

It's fair to say that by this time, despite being shunted around in a van between sites, we were all bushed.  We had a very Turkish lunch in the Ali Baba restaurant, which despite it's corny and unpromising name, is not much frequented by tourists.  It's right across from the mosque, and used to be the kitchens to feed the poor, and now is most popular with university students, lecturers, and local business people.  Basic dishes were beans, salad, doner kebab, stuffed cabbage leaves, rice, yoghurt.  Also very fresh bread.  

We also prowled the Spice Bazaar, the Galata ferry area by the bridge, and climbed the walls which were built to keep out the European barbarians.  They are truly awesome, built by Emperor Valens in the 4th Century, and still impressive today.  They more or less stretch from the Golden Horn down to the Sea of Marmara.  

As a reward for behaving ourselves, we were treated to a marvellous 'final farewell dinner' and ventured out for a reserved table at 6pm on the roof terrace of the Hotel Seven Hills, just a few metres from our Blue House Hotel.  Our table offered these views (without even getting up from the seats).

What a great way to end our trip.  We made speeches of gratitude, which I was happy to start off, focussing on Nahide, and giving her a more tangible token of our thanks in the form of a decent tip as well as showering her with compliments.  We also had to point out that without Emily organising everything so very well, and John being as patient and laid back, as well as generous with his knowledge (and his equipment!) nothing would have worked.  Everyone pitched in, and it makes such a positive difference.
Back at the hotel we swapped photos with eachother where we had one another in the picture, thus proving that we were there....(most people with a camera don't really care to be in front of the lens), and did a quick review of selected 6 images each.   And farewell....