Bike for Orphans

The building is magnificent and mesmerizing to look at but the thing that stands out for me is that the massive area for prayer that constitutes the majority of the floor space is for men only. At the back, the small enclosed area is for the Muslim women to pray. I was watching a number of women packed tightly together in devout prayer while the men were spread out all over the floor and appeared to be engaged in a more social environment, talking to each other as you would in a restaurant.

One of the increasingly annoying things you have to tolerate as you walk through the Old City of Istanbul is the constant sales pitches from leather or carpet owners. The conversations inevitably start with the innocent sounding "where are you from." I think that when people learn English in Istanbul, that is the first sentence they memorize as it is pretty standard fare. A typical conversation would sound like this,

Carpet salesman in disguise: "Hello, where are you from?"

Me: Canada

Carpet salesman in disguise: "I have a brother/sister/cousin/friend/uncle/friend that lives in Canada."

Me: That's interesting.

Carpet salesman in disguise: "I own a carpet store would you like to see my excellent products."

On the day I went to the Mosque, I thought I would find some refuge from the constant onslaught of the salesman. As I entered the inner court I was approached by a man who ranks as one of the greatest salesman I have ever heard in action. Here is our dialog,

Carpet store owner: "Hello, welcome to Istanbul and to our beautiful Blue Mosque."

Me: Tessekkur (thank you)

Carpet store owner: "The Mosque is open and free of charge and you have about 40 minutes until the Call to Prayer and once prayers begin, you will not be allowed to take photographs." (this was written on a large sign as you enter the Mosque).

Me: Okay, thank you.

Carpet store owner: "The line to get into the Mosque is over there (about 20 feet away) and you may join the line."

Me: Okay, thank you.

Carpet store owner: "I know that I have been very helpful to you but you may be surprised to know that being a guide is not my full time job (I wasn't surprised).

Me: Oh?

Carpet store owner: "No, not at all. I own a carpet store and when you are done looking at our beautiful gift to you (the Mosque), maybe you would like to repay my kindness by coming to see the carpets I have for sale at a very good price."

Me: I am on a bicycle trip and it would be difficult to carry a carpet as I bike.

Carpet store owner: "That is no problem, we can ship it to Canada at no charge to you" (very doubtful)

Me: No, I don't have a home and really have no need for a carpet.

Carpet store owner: "Do you have a family member that needs a new carpet?"

Me: I have 8 brothers and sisters but don't know if they are in need of a carpet.

Carpet store owner: "If you buy one for a family, imagine how jealous the others would be so you will have to buy 8 and then they will welcome you home with open arms."

I started laughing as he jumped from trying to sell 1 carpet to trying to sell 8 within minutes. He was very smooth and I have no doubt does very well in the sales business.

Five times per day the Muezzin cries out the call to prayer from the Minarets around Istanbul. It is almost a haunting cry that echoes through loudspeakers around the City at dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset and about two hours after sunset. Things do not come to a standstill at the sound of the song as most people just continue on with their business.

Directly across from the Mosque is the Church of Holy Wisdom, better known as Hagia Sophia. It was originally built as a Christian Church and for over 1,000 years was the largest building in the world (the largest building is now Boeing's factory in Washington State or Dubai International Airport depending if you measure by volume or floor space). When the Ottomans took Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1453, it was converted to a Mosque and it remained that way until the 1930's when it was converted to a museum.