Showing posts with label events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label events. Show all posts
Our tour guide brought the group outside of the Blue Mosque and showed us some lesser monuments. The structure below is actually a fountain were people used to be able to wash before prayer. It is outside of the Blue Mosque.


Outside of the Underground Cistern entrance this pole shows the distance from Istanbul to these famous cities. Constantinople (Istanbul) was once the cross roads of the ancient world.


I expected to be somewhat caustrophobic upon entering the Underground Cistern however it was extremely cavernous and spacious. The Entrance was simply a winding staircase that went down a few floors.


The pillars are illuminated by lamps and the boardwalk is wide and sturdy. 


Throughout my entire trip I've been in wonder of ancient world. How did they build something so efficient and beautiful?


Some of the pillars were more special than the others. The one depicted the head of medusa.


The symmetry and simplicity of the structure makes the atmosphere of being underground surrounded by water less creepy. The water was actually very shallow and had fish.


The tour guide let us spend about an hour and a half in the Cistern. Then we walked out, crossed the road, and hurried to the Topkapi Palace.


The palace is more a miniature city. The walls surrounding it are thick and the gates tall. The paint and colors have been preserved well. There are many many smaller buildings and gardens inside of the gates. Each building served a separate purpose and is now used to house specific artifacts.



The one unifying theme between the numerous buildings is the opulence. So much detail on even the smallest of structures.


Unfortunately I was not allowed to take photos inside of the buildings. But just past the building above were the inner quarters of the royal family. There are more gardens and buildings. It is now home to many Islamic relics including Prophet Muhammad's (SWT) beard, Khadijah's dress, and the gutters of the Kaaba. As well as many other things.


Never forget to look up! Some of the domed ceilings are inlaid with gold and detailed artwork.



This a view just inside the gates. The palace overlooks the sea.


Below is a picture of the entrance to the palace from the inside.



This the arabic writing engraved on the gates. It is on both sides of the gold.

The palace is extremely vast, to completely explore it, it would take two entire days. Unfortunately my mother and I were only able to see a few exhibits. On our way back to New York we have another long layover in Istanbul. We plan on exploring the palace and its artifacts then. 

Look out for the 3rd blogpost about my trip to Istanbul.

Peace, love, and hijab,
Naila <3

This past January I went on a trip through India and Bangladesh with my family. We booked our tickets to Bangladesh through Turkish Airlines. When my father found out that there would be a 8 hour layover in Istanbul he began to get really excited and planned on touring the city. While planning I found out that Turkish Airlines also provides a free tour of Istanbul with any layover flight (over 6 hours of layover). You can choose to stay in a hotel or you can choose to go on a tour.

Our flight landed at 7pm. We had to go through customs. Be warned that in order to enter Istanbul you need a visa. We had already acquired our visas before leaving the US online for $20 each. Once we made it through customs we went to the hotel desk to sign on with the tour. The tour included breakfast and lunch.

A coach bus took us from Ataturk Airport into the Old City, the part of Istanbul that has all of the historic structures. With the tour guide we were able to explore the Blue Mosque, the Underground Basilica, and the Topkapi Palace, as well as other monuments.


We had a light breakfast at this restaurant. Breakfast consisted of olives, cheese, eggs, turkey, and bread.


Above is a sign across the road from the restaurant.


Up the block from the restaurant is the Blue Mosque. There is a tunnel that connects it.



The mosque is absolutely magnificent. It's 8 spirals soar high and the brick looks almost untouched by time.



To enter the mosque all women must cover their heads, and shoes must be removed. This is still a working mosque so during prayer times it is closed to the public. I was lucky enough to pray there.




A picture is worth a thousand words and I have taken many of them. However I have only posted a few on my blog so I'll let them speak for themselves.






Behind the mosque inside of the entrance is the courtyard. In the middle is a fountain.




The symmetry of the architecture is a dream come true for anyone with OCD. All of the arches were painstakingly painted and shaped the same way, with red accents.





From what I saw there are three entrance to the courtyard with gates as similar to the one above.


Even from the outside the Blue Mosque looks just as magnificent. I still can't believe that after all this time it is still standing just as proudly.

There will be 2 more blogposts about my trip to Istanbul so be on the lookout :)


Peace, Love, and Hijabs,
Naila <3 


Watch the Vlog:


This past Saturday my friends and I went out for a much needed day of fun. It was the second day of spring break and we needed a breather from all of the workload from college. Thankfully nature was on our side, the day was beautiful and not too chilly.


There's always something to do in NYC and we discovered that there was going to be a massive pillow fight in Washington Square Park. It was a charity event, you brought your own pillows and had the option of donating them after you were done. I went with my friends Amanda and Janet :)


We decided to eat out at SoHo Spice beforehand. during lunch they have a free appetizer with any entree special.


Spring rolls on top, salad on bottom


Seafood soup:


Pork Noodles:
                   

Drunk Man Seafood Rice


Drunk Man Spicy Noodles


A lot of people showed up to the pillow fight. There were policemen present to handle any situation, so it was completely safe. There were also a few ground rules everyone had to follow: no hitting anyone without a pillow or with a camera, don't use feathered pillows, etc.



People got really into, both adults and children. For us it was a great way to work out the frustration and stress of the semester and a way to let loose.



Afterwards we walked through the West Village to Pop Bar, a gelato shop. They have very unique flavors and you can customize your gelato bar any way you want. I got a green tea gelato with chocolate sauce and caramel toppings.


Peace, Love, and Hijabs,
Naila <3

About

Mountain View

Hello! My name is Naila and sometimes I go by Nishi. I am a jack of all trades and a master of few.

This blog is a collection of my life: fashion, diys, poetry, and travel.

My Youtube Channel: A Primrose in Winter
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Intsagram (@thathijabae)