Istanbul – Suleymaniye Mosque, a cat and a sunset

After eating our fill, we went to go look for an interesting building.

Like a mosque.  They didn’t let us into the Blue Mosque as they thought that the blind girl was underage…

Actually it was just prayer time.  anyway…

See the inside!

And the interesting pattern on the carpet.  One of my friends thought they were windows.  I suspect they are for a more spiritual purpose.  Prayer mats?

See right side – American tourists obeying the rules and staying out of the enclosed area which says NO TOURISTS

See center front, 2 chinese girls being where they weren’t supposed to be.

To be fair to them, the one security guard was having a heated argument with an American tourist so they managed to sneak past.

I must say that mosques are quite interesting, no pictures inside!

Outside on the street.  Istanbul is cleaner than London!

Warm too.  Perfect place for a nap.

This has to be the happiest cat I’ve seen for a long time.  Look at that smile.  He didn’t even move when I was almost going to poke him.

A doggy in the window.  He is real!  Lots of tame animals around the city!

Great weather for exploring the city.  No need for a sweater!

Narrow cobbled streets

And on a warm day, what better to drink than freshly squeezed orange juice!

Or maybe stop to for some street pretzels?

We also make a quick detour to the grand bazaar.  But more on this later.

This is one of the typical carpet stores.

But we thought it would be best to spend our first sunset outside.

Cause otherwise you might miss

This