We had a wonderful morning of sightseeing. Fortunately, the weather was much warmer today, and the rain kept away except for a few sprinkles. 

Our first stop was outside the Blue Mosque on the plaza that used to be the hippodrome for chariot races. The Egyptian obelisk sits on a Roman base. Both are beautifully carved. It took 2,000 men to set the obelisk upright.

After Flo and I donned our head covers, we removed our shoes and entered the Blue Mosque. It is hard to capture the scale in our photos. The dome is supported by four smaller domes which, in turn, are supported by hemi-domes. The four massive cylindrical pillars are painted with intricate designs. These pillars used to be painted a much darker cobalt blue. A small portion of one pillar remains the earlier blue, this color having led to the Blue Mosque name. The tile work on the walls and arches is spectacular. The altar area is cordoned off so pilgrims and worshippers can pray uninterrupted by the sight-seeing tourist. During services, the Imam stands in the apse facing Meccah like the other worshippers.

 

After too short a visit, we exited and put our shoes back on. We kept our heads covered for our next visit, the nearby Hagia Sofia. It has scaffolding inside and out. Our guide told us the scaffolding was put up several months ago without further explanation. In spite of the scaffolding, we could enjoy the beauty and the interesting history. First built as a church and completed in AD 537, it is considered to be the epitome of Byzantine architecture. After serving as the cathedral of Constantinople, it was controlled by Latin Crusaders. After the fall of Constantinople, it served as a mosque, and its minarets were added. The site became a museum in 1935 and was redesignated as a mosque in 2020. There are reminders of all these periods. The paintings of angels once had their faces plastered over, but in the museum period, some of these faces were restored. The remnants of Christian mosaics are beautiful. The placement of the altar is now slightly askew from east to point to Meccah. For over 1,000 years, this was the largest church on earth.

Tomorrow, we fly to Cairo for the next part of our trip.