Istanbul, woke up to tulips.
Tulips is the national flower of Turkey and they are everywhere and every colour , really beautiful. The tulip festival finished 10 days ago but the flowers are still here, the shopping festival finshed yesterday, sadly.
Found a hotel in the old town, all the touristy bits are near by, the roof top view includes the sea and the sights.
First stop the spice bazar and the grand bazar ( the lines outside the museums and mosques were a bit daunting). Loved both the bazars, the shops go on and on, really colorful and not too much hassling. Bought some gloves and shoes, got a bottle of perfume free at a random shop ( obviously fake ), leaving it for the cleaning lady .
The crowds had thinned down so visited the Blue Mosque, it is so pretty. The walls including the ceilings are covered with intricate work. People were praying and the area for tourists is walled off. There were free booklets about Islam present, I read one and it was quite enlightening. There is such a negative perception of Islam in the media and the booklet presented it so well and simply.
Next Hagia Sophia, this beautiful building had been destroyed and rebuilt a few times, initially a church, then a mosque and now a museum. It has gone through a lot and come out beautifully. The conversion from a church to a mosque led to additions rather than demolitions, so there are mosaics and paintings of Jesus and massive circular tablets of Islam. Used an audio guide , tried our thumbs at the wishing wall.
Slight drizzle , did not stop us, rather Jeevan, from taking pictures of both of them lit up.
On the way to the hotel passed a restaurant with a Dervish dance performance, stopped and watched for a while, very soothing .
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