Turkey 10 - Istanbul - The tombs of the sultan in the Blue Mosque /another Sinan masterclass in Ottoman buildings

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We had moved location from our usual cafe to another one closer to Sultanahmet Square and our next port of call the Blue Mosque . I guess the fact that the guy outside Otantik began to wave at us as we arrived and the waiters blew me hearts and kisses it was time to move on and sample something different . Not that a few blown kisses go amiss at times . The cafe stretched along the street , was under cover , blankets were available if it were cold and the cost of electricity seemed nothing as the heaters were put on above every table at night . In the sunshine we enjoyed our baklava and coffee and discussed what next . We had a short window of opportunity between prayers to walk up to the Blue Mosque official name - The Sultan Ahmed mosque and view both the royal tombs and the mosque itself . Sitting in the sunshine it was hard to poke ourselves in the ribs and tell ourselves coffee drunk , baklava eaten time to move on.

The area around the Blue Mosque was extremely busy with tourists and locals who were getting ready for the call to prayer . I may have misheard it or read the signs wrongly but I thought we had 15 minutes to view the tombs, walk across the courtyard and get in and out of the mosque before the doors closed for prayer .

The mosque indeed looked blue and I thought it the most stunning I had seen so far. We were looking forward to seeing the interior but first was the job of sitting on a cold step, removing our shoes , checking we were dressed appropriately and in a seemly fashion and donning my green pashmina used as a headscarf .

A one way system was set up inside. Guards were placed on the doors and we were ushered in and sent off in the correct way to avoid bumping into people . It was all extremely organised and quiet . Even with many people clicking away on cameras speech was whispered . Not a sound seemed to echo around the building .

The mausoleum of Ahmed I is located northeast of the mosque. The building began in 1619 after Ahmed's death. It was completed by his son Osman II who reigned between 1618 and 1622. Mausoleums t typically have an octagonal form as we had noticed from others we had visited . This tomb chamber has a square floor plan covered by a dome and felt more like a minature mosque . Extremely crowded with tombs and stunning stonework it had a diameter of 15 metres. The tombs filled the building . Some tiny , many larger all with inscriptions stating who was buried in the tomb. Sultan Ahmed I, his wife Kosem and three of his sons Osman II Murat IV and Prince Bayezid . All of whom died in the early 17th century .

The building felt like a great joy. None of the gloom of mausoleums or the grandeur of European royal tombs . None of the greyness .. All the tombs were designed to the same standard . Covered in rich crimson or navy blue drapes the calligraphy picked out in gold thread . The fabrics must have been of the best quality for a sultan and his family . The hours of work picking out the calligraphy in thread beggared belief . We were ushered through quickly purely by the sheer numbers of visitors who were funnelled into a small walkway around the building . There was no time to stand and talk . The next group of visitors were pushing us along .

Outside we sat again on the cold step and replaced our shoes . I removed my headscarf and we began our walk past the madrasa the schoolroom for the complex. Completed around 1620. Sleeping quarters were incorporated inside .Now it was used for Ottoman archives . A hospital and the usual public kitchen had been built over part of the Roman Hippodrome together with a hammam the bathhouse and another small mosque. The remaining structures on the complex were the soup kitchen known as the imaret which was built around 1617. Pantries , ovens and dining halls . All extremely civilised and civic minded .

There is a Japanese proverb that suggests that we experience the beauty of nature and in doing so we learn about ourselves . I found myself thinking that I could change the word nature and make it the beauty of mosques. I was finding out a lot about myself experiencing Turkey, Istanbul and the Ottoman empire . The more I saw the more I wish we had been able to travel the Aegean side of the country which had been the plan .

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