4. Blue Mosque [Geography - Islam]

I saw the Blue Mosque first when we were driving from the airport to Sultanahmet, then from the balcony of the Albinas Hotel where we stayed in Istanbul. During the 36 hours we were in Istanbul we walked to it, in it and around it - many times. This post is about the Blue Mosque. 

To get there we climbed more narrow cobble stoned streets. It didn't matter which ones we took because they all led to the Blue Mosque and the minarets made it easy to find. The colours and perspective changed every time. 

I've been to mosques in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia  (and there's a Geography excursion next term to see one in Sydney!), but the Blue Mosque was magnificent with its 6 minarets and domes. It's colloquially called the Blue Mosque because of the blue painted tiles that adorn its interior, which were hard to capture on the cameras. 

Inside the chandeliers they put ostrich eggs to repel cobwebs, and spiders. How clever is that?

It was built in the early 1600s to assert the Ottoman Empire's power when it was in decline. Pope Benedict XVI visited the Blue Mosque in 2006, he was the second pope to ever visit a Muslim place of worship. He said Turkey "will be the bridge of friendship and collaboration between the East and West."

There are 5 main domes and 8 other ones, and the 6 minarets which all have balconies. Before the loud speakers, the muezzins climbed up the minarets five times a day to call to prayer. 

 

Islam is the second largest religion in the world (Christianity is the first), there are 2.6 billion Muslims and it's the fastest growing religion in the world.  

 

Muslims follow the Five Pillars of Islam through their lives. These are:

1.  Declaration of faith (Shahada)

2.  Praying 5 times a day (Salat)

3.  Giving money to charity (Zakah)

4.  Fasting (during Ramadan between sunrise and sunset)

5.  A pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lives (Hajj)

Muslims holy book is the Qur'an (Koran), and they believe it was given to Muhammad from god (Allah) from the archangel Gabriel who is the same Gabriel who told the Virgin Mary of Jesus' birth. 

Muslims believe in one God (Allah) whose sent his message through the prophets. Islam believes Adam, Abraham, Moses and Isaac were prophets - the same biblical prophets Christians believe in. Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, and his virgin birth and his name in mentioned in the Qur'an almost a hundred times. They believe Muhummad was the last prophet and every time they say his name, they say "Peace be upon him."

Before we could enter the mosque, as non-Muslims we needed to take off our shoes and cover our head, shoulders and legs. Mum had a long dress so she didn't need to use the green clothing I adorned, but we both needed the blue head scarf. 

Before praying Muslims have to do their ablutions. They have to wash their hands to the wrists, wash their mouth, nose and face with water, and both arms up to their elbows. Their head has to wiped with the three middle fingers and their feet are washed to their ankles.

Muslims are meant to pray five times a day, and the muezzin calls remind people when to pray. They pray facing Mecca which is called the qibla. In every hotel room there's an arrow showing the direction of Mecca (like in Malaysia and Indonesia) and it was on the Emirates plane. 



There's also a timetable App to state the time in each country, because it depends on the sun which changes in latitudes and longitudes. The Emirates plane had a channel which helped worshippers know when to pray when they cross timezones. 

Prayer "purifies the heart and prevents temptation towards wrong doings and evil."

Fajr - morning prayer after dawn before sunrise
Zhur - early afternoon when the sun is at its zenith before it starts to decline
Asr - late afternoon when the sun is midway on its way to setting.
Maghhrib - sunset prayer immediately after the sun sets
Isha - early night prayer which is said before going to bed. 

We were in Muslim Turkey and Jordan during Ramadam. This is the fasting month when Muslims are not allowed to drink or eat between sunrise and sunset. During Ramadan they are also meant to focus on helping the poor and to share their opportunities with the less fortunate. I like this, thinking of the poor, it would be good to have a time when ALL privileged people would focus on giving to those who aren't. 

Mum and I sat on the lush carpet to draw in the grandeur and to read the information. Mum was aware that this area (Sultanahmet) had been bombed earlier this year so we she didn't want to stay for long, but it was so peaceful that we did. Except when Mum heard a grumbling noise and felt the carpets shake. She said "Sa, we need to go now .. let's go." I asked her why? She told me what she heard and felt. I replied to her: "Mum, it's the vacuum cleaner." !!!!!! We stayed a bit longer:)