Rustem Pasha Mosque

After breakfast, I had a quick walk around all of the camera shops I have spotted within ten minute's walk of the hotel. Alas, there were no real bargains to be had.

After taking a tram ride all the way to the end of the line just to see what was there, I returned to Fatih district and brought forward my visit to the last two mosques on my agenda. The first was easy, the huge "New Mosque" in Eminonu. As I arrived, the mosques were closing for an hour for prayer, so I thought I'd go find the second mosque, the Rustem Pasha Mosque.

This smaller and older mosque is also in the same area, but was going to be harder to find. It was out the back of the Spice Bazaar someplace but the guest relations manager at the hotel, Nural, insisted it was worth it. He has been correct in pointing things out so far, so I went off in search. It took a while, but I did locate it. It stands above a maze of busy little alleys near the bazaar and can the only public access was through a pair of small stairs, each at different corners of  the complex.

I first spotted the dome on the same way I spotted the Pantheon; down an alley, and not where I was expecting to find it. I had to walk around it twice before I realized there was no door... just these delightful little stair cases rising up from the street. I thought they were just shop stairs before I realized they must lead to the mosque's courtyard.

It was worth the effort. This mosque was indeed more blue than the Blue Mosque and was much more human in scale. I sat in the courtyard for the remainder of prayer, listening to the call to the call and watching the men rush in from their jobs to attend. It was good... it gave me time to just sit and write some notes... and just be there.

Inside the mosque was different from others I had seen. More intimate, darker, more wood... the light was fantastic. I spent some time wandering around looking at the tile work, the dome and the small nooks and rooms that lay off the central area.

After that it was off to the New Mosque, which was back to the pattern of grand perfection I'd observed at the Blue Mosque and the Suleiman Mosque. Again, they are beautiful buildings, but I somehow find it difficult to connect with them. The Rustem Pasha Mosque was more my size and atmosphere.

The kind of little passage out the back of the bazaar that leads to the Rustem Pasha Mosque. As I took this photo, I didn't realize it but the mosque was five meters to my left, and up about eight. It was very reminiscent of the hunt for St Maria's of Trestevere.

The men come to prayer. One of the biggest challenges I have faced in shooting things in this city is trying not to get people in my shots inadvertently. I don't like taking stranger's pictures unless its plainly a public place and in a wider context. But I relaxed my rules a bit here... the procession of guys coming up those steps from their jobs just seemed an absolutely integral part of this moment.

The blue tiles that give this mosque its distinctive character

Not the largest dome in the known world, but still impressive.

But it was the details and textures that set this place apart. 

And the nooks and alcoves that let in a very diffuse and soft light.

Taking a few steps back, this is how I first saw the Rustem Pasha Mosque. Quarters were so cramped, this is about the best shot I could get from outside. I just love these walkable, three dimensional cityscapes.

The New Mosque. That is what it is known as locally, and it is plainly a focal point. All day, each party in the coming elections had a loudspeaker van in the plaza out front trying to out-do each other in sheer volume of announcements. 

There it is again... that imposing, grand perfection.

These precariously roosting pigeons deserved a snap.