Tuesday - Suleymaniye Mosque and Dolmabahce Palace
Up, packed, breakfasted and on to the coach by 8.30 to drive to the mosque near by, which we had lunched at on Sunday.
This is the Suleymaniye Mosque. The cascading domes and four slender minarets of the Imperial Suleymaniye Mosque dominate the skyline on the Golden Horn's west bank. Considered the most beautiful of all imperial mosques in Istanbul, it was built between 1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the renowned architect of the Ottoman Empire's golden age. Erected on the crest of a hill, the building is conspicuous for its great size, emphasized by the four minarets that rise from each comer of the courtyard. Inside are the mihrab (prayer niche showing the direction to Mecca) and the mimber (pulpit) made of finely carved white marble and exquisite stained-glass windows colouring the incoming streams of light. It was in the gardens of this complex that Suleyman and his wife, Hurrem Sultan (Roxelane), had their mausoleums built, and near here also Sinan built his own tomb. The mosque complex also includes four medreses, or theological schools, a school of medicine, a caravanserai, a Turkish bath, and a kitchen and hospice for the poor.
Huge courtyard, the mosque came with four minarettes, which means it was built by a Sultan and was the fourth ruler of the Ottoman empire. Twelve balconies because the 12th Sultan of Turkey. Mosques all built on high points, and in Istanbul there are 7 hills, each with a mosque. Rainwater was stored in tanks underneath the courtyard and in the four huge pillars inside.
Shoes off, but Seda said no need to cover the head. Lovely stained glass and very like a Byzantine basilica inside. Pipe work under the main floor for heating and to help with the acoustics. Importance of acoustics was a recurring theme of all the mosques. There was a tiny window over the entrance to allow the candle smoke to escape. Iznik tiles, on the walls, Blackened Ostrich eggs hanging everywhere, these were used to catch spiders. Seda said she had tried it at home and it works. The whole mosque was carpeted, all marked out with prayer positions looking towards Mecca and the alter. This mosque had taken 7 years to build. Outside there were lovely gardens with hibiscus.
We then visited the tombs of Suleyman and two other sultans. Their heads were marked with huge turbans. The graves in the cemetery had very thin tombstones with turbans for men, and flowers for women.
Back on the coach and off to Dolmabahce Palace, which had taken 13 years to build, and was occupied in 1884. The palace bankrupted the sultan. The tour was a guided tour with lots of other people. It was done at a furious rate and unless you kept up with the guide you missed out on the comments. The palace was very ornate, with huge chandeliers. The largest one, made of Waterford crystal, weighed 4.5 tons. The palace smelt very fusty, and the exhibits were very poorly labelled. We did not visit the Harem, but we did see part of the palace where the ladies could peer in on the guests.
Brief stop for a snack, and then a drive to a ferry port to cross the Marmara sea and landed at Yalova. We drove on to Bursa where we stopped at a rather smart hotel, The Kervansaray Termal Hotel, outside of a traffic packed town. Hotel had swimming pools, Turkish baths etc. Had a few beers at the hotel, 8 lira each!!!. Buffet supper, excellent salads and meat choice and very good puddings. Steve logged onto the Internet to check his emails
