Turkey Day 1 @ Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) @ Istanbul

It was a long journey from Japan to Istanbul.

After a total of 16 hours of flight (12 hours NRT-->AUH, 4 hours AUH-->IST),  we finally felt the chilly air of Istanbul.

Istanbul has lower temperature compare to Japan's but the coldness was more tolerable because the wind speed was lesser. 

Verdict : Japan has too many frequent strong winds because it is a BIG island surrounded by sea.

Before I start writing about Istanbul, I want to share some pictures of Abu Dhabi airport.

I believe it is the second most interesting airport I've seen so far with KLIA being the first.

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The waiting area with free WiFi access

 #2

Christmas Deco

While waiting for our connecting flight, we had lunch at Burger King for the second time in overseas AGAIN (Our first time was in Spain). The queue was short and most importantly was because they got free WiFi! 

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And suddenly, YW came out with a naughty idea asking me to munch my burger and to look upward angrily. I did it without questioning and I almost choked on my Coke when he showed me the photo.

#5

Saw the ad board behind?

Little cute camel I wish to bring home but didn't. 

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Sunrise in Abu Dhabi

After the tiring rides, we finally reached our first stop. A very very light steel blue colour dome. Do you realise the dome is has less curves compare to Malaysia's onion-shape's?

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Sultan Ahmed Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultan Ahmet Camii) is a historic mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.

It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is still popularly used as a mosque.

#9

Shoes needed to be remove as a Muslim tradition when entering a mosque

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The interior of the mosque

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The interior of the mosque is lined with ceramic tiles

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The main dome

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Stained glass (used in churches too)

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Ladies need to wear head cover when entering this mosque

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Tulips design carpets 

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Open courtyard of the mosque

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Place for Wudu

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Thank God the weather was fine so that I could take nice photo without putting too much effort. 

Actually this was the first mosque that I visited. Although Malaysia has many mosque but none of my Malay friends invited me to the mosque before. Maybe because it is a holy place and they do not really encourage non-Muslim to visit? I can imagine the iman's look if they see a non-Muslim inside the mosque. "Apa pasal you kat sini?" (what brings you here?) hahaha!

This mosque is beautiful, not only from outside but the interior too.
Everything look so peaceful and reconcile.
Do avoid visiting at prayer time or within a half hour after the ezan is chanted from the Mosque minarets because mosque closes for 90 minutes at each prayer time.

By the way, do you know that Muslims in Turkey drink alcohol? haha! That surprised me too!

Hope you enjoy the post!
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Entrance Fee : Free
Admission : 09:00 - 18:00 daily