Today is the first day of our tour of Western Turkey. We began by meeting at the And Otel and then walked across the street to the restaurant for tea and conversation. Meli started to explain a few housekeeping items, but the Call to Worship kept interrupting her. We managed to listen to her and the chanter, and introduced ourselves.. Buddies were chosen so we would "look out for each other" on the tour. We then walked together over to the large square between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Meli reminded us that this was where the Byzantine Hippodrome was built during Constantine's reign. It was to be better than the Romans, so was three times the size of the previous Roman stadiums. It had a seating capacity of 100,000 people. We observed the obelisk, which had been brought from Egypt and Greece, representing the lands ruled by Constantinople. The top was over 3500 years old, and the base was 1700 years old. We also saw the Gazebo that was built for the German Kaiser, since Turkey had sided with Germany during World War I. From the square, we then went into the Blue Mosque, with the women wearing their shawls, and all of us removing our shoes. There are 10 entrances into the outside courtyard and less entrances directly into the Mosque. It was built from 1609-1616 by the orders of the Sultan who wanted the biggest and tallest mosque constructed. He also wanted it to face the Hagia Sophia which wasn't considered possible. Well, the Sultan did not get his way on all his requests, but the architect did design a magnificient mosque. The foundation was built with stones from the destruction of the Hippodrome and blue tiles were utilized throughout the interior. The 17th century Europeans were so impressed with the beautiful tiles that they began to refer to it as the Blue Mosque. It was an engineering and mathematical marvel, due to the use of half and quarter domes which allowed for the support of the main, huge dome without need of numerous columns.

Following our tour of the Blue Mosque and picture taking, we all departed to walk together to a local restaurant, The Blue House. We sat on the rooftop as the sun was setting and we had a fantastic view of the Blue Mosque as it lit up the sky. The food was superb with various courses, and people relaxed and began to get to know each other better. It was a very special first evening as we ended the day and returned to the And Otel, anticipating many shared adventures to come.