We are in the courtyard of what we tourists call the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul. (Our guide, Halit, said when he was young they called it Islammul, meaning many of Islam, but it morphed into Istanbul.) The mosque was "built in 5 years" according to Halit. Everything was built in a very short time in Turkey. Cathedrals took 20 to 50 years in England, but everything he showed us was built in a year, 5 or 7.
This is actually looking up at the ceiling inside the mosque. They allow visitors during non-prayer time. I neglected to take a picture of the amazing red carpet on the floor. it is a beautiful building, with a huge open space for prayers, five times a day.
We are in the courtyard of what we tourists call the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul. (Our guide, Halit, said when he was young they called it Islammul, meaning many of Islam, but it morphed into Istanbul.) The mosque was "built in 5 years" according to Halit. Everything was built in a very short time in Turkey. Cathedrals took 20 to 50 years in England, but everything he showed us was built in a year, 5 or 7. 
This is actually looking up at the ceiling inside the mosque. They allow visitors during non-prayer time. I neglected to take a picture of the amazing red carpet on the floor. it is a beautiful building, with a huge open space for prayers, five times a day.
