TURKEY'S MAGICAL HIDEAWAYS
May 22 - June 7, 2009
Page Five
Istanbul
Mihrab inside Rustem Pasa Mosque, built in 1561 for the son-in-law of and grand vizier to Sultan Suleyman I.
Most of the interior is covered in high quality Iznik tiles, the most magnificently tiled mosque in Istanbul.
The most important element in the interior of any mosque is the mihrab, the
niche indicating the direction in which a Muslim shall perform his 5 daily prayers.
Minbar in Rustem Pasa Mosque. The pulpit, mostly made of wood,
put in a mosque near its mihrab,
upon which the prayer-leader (imam)
stands when he gives the congregational prayer's sermon on Fridays and holidays.
It symbolizes the Stairway to Heaven.
Men praying outside the interior of the Rustem Pasa Mosque
Galata Bridge and Galata Tower in the background. People fish off this bridge. It connects the old and new
sections of the European side of Istanbul.
Mother and child eating at a restaurant in the modern section of Istanbul.
Pedestrian street in the modern section of Istanbul that has numerous sidewalk cafes. Our tour leader Rana
told us that during her free time she and her friends frequent this area, seeing movies and eating at the cafes
and drinking raki, a Turkish drink similar to ouzo.
In Turkey, raki is the unofficial 'national drink,'
and it is traditionally consumed mixed with water; the dilution causes this alcoholic drink
to turn a milky-white colour, and possibly because of its color,
this mixture is popularly called aslan sütü, literally meaning "lion's milk."
Abbas Restaurant in the modern European part of Istanbul where we ate dinner the last night in the City.
Shown are our tour leader Rana (in green), Heather (from Alberta), Bobbi and Fred (from Michigan).
I had delicious sea bass and drank Efes beer, by far the most popular beer in Turkey and
named after the ancient
city of Ephesus (Efes in Turkish), which we visited near the end of our trip.
Taksim Square area. Note vendor selling corn, Burger King in the middle of the photo, and Turkcell ad.
Turkcell is the leading mobile phone operator of Turkey, based in Istanbul. It is the third biggest in Europe.
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