Istanbul, Turkey

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Blue Mosque Ramadan Festival and Belly Dancing Turkish Toilets

Istanbul was once Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire. In 324 AD, Constantine took the city and in 330 AD declaring it the “New Rome”. The Byzantine Empire lasted from the founding in 330 to the Ottoman Turkish conquest in 1453. After WWI the capital was moved to Ankara, located in the middle of the Turkey. 12 million people live in Istanbul. This city is unique because one part of the city is in Europe and one side is in Asia. Three bridges cross the Bosphorus River connecting the European and Asian sides.

VIDEO & SOUND!!! Call to prayer from Blue Mosque. Call to prayer is heard 5 times a day (at sunrise, sunset and 3 times in between. (Muslims are to pray 5 times a day) There is a person on the microphone blaring a chant in Arabic (or Turkish). In larger cities with multiple mosques, it seems to be a contest to see who can outdo each other. Place curser over photo to start video.

Blue Mosque - 1606 – 1616, The layout is classical Ottoman design. The “blue” of the mosque’s name comes from the Iznik tiles which line the walls. There is a piece of the sacred Black Stone from the Kaaba in Mecca. Legend has it that when the Sultan told the architect he wanted minarets made of gold, the same word was used for the number 6. So the architect built 6 towers on the top of the mosque. Believe it or not!

Night views of the Blue Mosque

End of Ramazan festival (The Turkish say "Ramazan" & other Arab countries use "Ramadan"): The Hippodrome - Area where the Ramazan festival was held. Place of chariot races took place.

Belly Dancing

Belly Dancer and Sultan wantabies!

A night out in Istanbul drinking Salep, playing backgammon, listening to music and observing the smoking of the Hukka Pipe.

Van Cats!!! One green eye & one blue eye. These wacky cats come from the region of Lake Van, in the far eastern edge of Turkey. It is illegal to remove them from the country. They also like to swim. Click on the photos for a close up to see a real freaky photo.


Cigdem's Bakery!	Market day for produce and goodies		Turkish teens like to practice their English. So much so that they yelled "hello" as we passed and asked us questions about where we're from, how long we're in Turkey, and where we've visited. Another example of that famous Turkish Hospitality!

Public Toilets with the charm of Turkey

Love toilet shots? Click here for our collection.

Here is a standard Turkish toilet with a built in bidet squirter (as opposed to the European separate bidet. Next photo is the Sultan's royal toilet from the palace. (and you thought royalty didn't do such things)