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Next stop is Şehzade Mosque Of course there are thousands of mosques in Istanbul, and the grandest are not on my itinerary this time. And, to be honest, the mosques here can get a bit ho-hum, being much the same basic plan. But I'm visiting a few and this one is very nice.
Sinan, the greatest Ottoman architect, built this mosque between 1543 and 1548 for Süleyman the Magnificent, in memory of his son Prince Mehmed, who died young. Sinan later called it his "apprentice work". Its symmetrical design, with a central dome supported by four half-domes, was an experiment at the time that he refined in later great works.
Tomb of the Prince, and others.
Inside. The first pic gives some perspective = the great dome at the top.
Somewhat skewed
Continuing my walk takes me past many wrecked buildings, many almost wrecked but habitable and a few old gems like this
I might say here that today, and tomorrow, I saw very few western-looking tourists. I walked a lot of grotty neighbourhoods (never felt unsafe) but even in the places like the next one, it was mostly locals.
'Vefa bozacisi'. (Vefa district) Since 1876 and said to have been a favourite of Ataturk. Wiki:
Boza is a fermented beverage originating from Central Asia. It is one of the oldest Turkic beverages . It is made in Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, the Volga region, the Caucasus, and North Africa. It is a malt drink made by fermenting various grains: millet, wheat (or bulgur) and maize (corn) in Turkey. It has a thick consistency, a low alcohol content (around 1%), and a slightly acidic sweet flavor.
Cinnamon on top and roasted chickpeas. You can see it has a very thick consistency, and is served at room temperature. It was OK, but won't become a favourite of mine.
My host:
Sinan, the greatest Ottoman architect, built this mosque between 1543 and 1548 for Süleyman the Magnificent, in memory of his son Prince Mehmed, who died young. Sinan later called it his "apprentice work". Its symmetrical design, with a central dome supported by four half-domes, was an experiment at the time that he refined in later great works.
Tomb of the Prince, and others.
Inside. The first pic gives some perspective = the great dome at the top.
Somewhat skewed
Continuing my walk takes me past many wrecked buildings, many almost wrecked but habitable and a few old gems like this
I might say here that today, and tomorrow, I saw very few western-looking tourists. I walked a lot of grotty neighbourhoods (never felt unsafe) but even in the places like the next one, it was mostly locals.
'Vefa bozacisi'. (Vefa district) Since 1876 and said to have been a favourite of Ataturk. Wiki:
Boza is a fermented beverage originating from Central Asia. It is one of the oldest Turkic beverages . It is made in Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, the Volga region, the Caucasus, and North Africa. It is a malt drink made by fermenting various grains: millet, wheat (or bulgur) and maize (corn) in Turkey. It has a thick consistency, a low alcohol content (around 1%), and a slightly acidic sweet flavor.
Cinnamon on top and roasted chickpeas. You can see it has a very thick consistency, and is served at room temperature. It was OK, but won't become a favourite of mine.
My host:
