ISTANBUL: PART 2

On the second full day of touring on my trip to Istanbul, we visited the city's Modern Art Museum and two additional mosques, the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent and the Rustem Pasha Mosque.

Istanbul Modern Art Museum.

Here is s view of the museum taken on our cruise on the Bosphorus later in the week.

In some ways the museum was an unusual choice, as Istanbul is best known for its older architecture, not its contemporary art.  Still, I thought there were some interesting pieces that I photographed.  

Here is a piece from the exterior.

And a wider view of the museum's interior.

I also got a view of the Bosphorus as well as a shot of a lovely smaller mosque across from the museum.

Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent.

One of the largest and most beautiful mosques was the one built for Suleyman the Magnificent, completed in 1557 CE.  It was designed by Sinan, the architect who also designed the Blue Mosque and the Rustem Pasha Mosque.  

First, the exterior, including one of the four minarets, as well as the detail of the archway over the main entrance to the mosque.

And here is another photo of the intricate detail over another of the entrances.

The interior is just gorgeous.  I especially like the colors and the relatively clean lines of this mosque.

A ceiling detail.

On the exterior there were areas where worshipers can perform ritual ablutions before entering the mosque for prayer.

Rustem Pasha Mosque.

The Rustem Pasha Mosque was smaller than the others that we visited, though it was by no means small in an absolute sense.  For me, the best aspect of this mosque was in the beautiful Iznik tiles that largely covered the interior.

Here is a shot that features some of the tiles on the interior.

I particularly liked the doors and windows of this mosque (despite the fire extinguisher in this first shot).

These last two were of the same window, one taken straight on, the other at an angle.

This final photo was of a prayer niche on the exterior of the mosque.

John