Rich colors, marble steps, chandeliers and ornate carpets pronounce that the mosque is a special, a sacred place. The minarets blare blessings to Allah over their loudspeakers throughout the day, and men will stop in to pray. Although I went in to a few, out of curiosity, I never saw any other women there. We have to stand behind a lattice, and I was asked to cover my head.
In modern Turkey, women do not wear the veil as a matter of course; they are very western and looking more toward Europe for fashion, but not for culture...the music, paintings, tiles, and weaving, the many folk traditions are well loved.
Empires have come to their height and fallen again, in many successions, which is mind boggling for an American like me. Still, the people live, they bathe and travel and eat and sing. Palaces are built upon the ruins of older palaces, churches are changed to mosques and back again, and much diversity lives side by side. For the most part, it felt pretty darn harmonious.
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