Our final day in Turkey was a relaxed one and provided a chance to wind down a bit after three weeks on the go. We began with an effort to visit the mosque sometimes referred to as the “Little Hagia Sofia”, but though we arrived at the reportedly difficult-to-find site about 9:30 without a hitch, the mosque was closed, supposedly to open at 10:00. We peeked in the windows, explored the nearby area and then, with several others, were waiting for the doors to swing open, an event that several sources then predicted might happen at a variety of times in the near, or not-so-near future. We decided to move on to other pressing activities, like shopping.
In one shop, we struck up a conversation with a young man who, when not serving customers, busily works at a loom weaving lovely cloth. He is from Afghanistan and had interesting and terrifying stories to tell about life in that ever-beleaguered country. We were touched by his personal history and left him with wishes for peace in his country – but without buying a carpet!! It was an unexpected and memorable special moment for us.
As we headed to the waterfront, we made a stop at Sirkeci train station, the terminus for the Orient Express. There’s a small museum there and the station is undergoing a large restoration effort; we’ll have to wait until our return to Istanbul to see the results!
We crossed the Galata Bridge to have a look at the fish market on the north side of the Golden Horn. We stopped to sample the offerings and had balkik ekmek, fish sandwiches, for lunch.
Crossing back to the south side of the Golden Horn, we arrived at the New Mosque shortly before the Call to Prayer sounded. We decided to remain in the beautifully-tiled mosque through the prayer service. Male worshippers streamed through the doors and took their places on the carpet facing the mihrab, the niche facing Mecca. Women overflowed the screened galleries at the rear of the mosque and took up places behind us. The Imam led the service, with sung contributions from muezzin, the men who chant the call to prayer from the minarets. The numbers of participants in the service, as well as the fact that this occurs five times each day on seemingly every block in the city (and, of course, throughout the world) were amazing to us. During our time in Istanbul, we’ve likened the number of mosques here to the number of churches in Rome, and we have sometimes joked about the “dueling calls to prayer” from closely-spaced mosques, but the level of devotion begs to be taken seriously.
One “main thoroughfare” we had not yet traveled was the Bosphorus Strait, so this afternoon we boarded a ship for a two-hour cruise north on the Asian side of the strait and south along the European shore. The mild and sunny day was perfect and we enjoyed sitting on the open-air top deck and spotting the sights described in our guidebook as we glided past them. It was a grand finale for our three-week Turkish vacation; now our suitcases are packed for tomorrow’s flights to New York and Phoenix and ready for the happiest ending of every trip – our safe arrival home.
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