Constantly iterating until its execution time- this is just how I live my life. Initially, this day was going to be dedicated to a long ferry ride to Prince’s Island as that’s what the LLM (which is by proxy what the most common and popular thing the internet has to say). But pulling the day together didn’t feel quite right and with little doubt from two hints of inspiration from others, the day pivoted to a visit to the asian side Istanbul and what a day of gifts it turned out to be. And not only that, I changed the order of the day on the day of- also going against LLM guidance.
Notes from Gemini:
Perched atop the highest point of Çamlıca Hill in Istanbul, the Grand Çamlıca Mosque is Turkey’s largest mosque. Designed in the Neo-Ottoman style by female architects Bahar Mızrak and Hayriye Gül Totu, the colossal complex blends classical Ottoman and Seljuk architectural elements with modern spatial engineering
Notes from wiki:
Çamlıca Mosque was only the third mosque in Turkey to have six minarets, after the Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque in Istanbul and the Sabancı Merkez Mosque in Adana.
On the horizon, it is hard to miss the Grand Çamlıca Mosque – it is as grand as the Blue mosque is blue – but it’s definitely missing from typical recommendations. I was shocked when looking for an architectural write up to learn than this is designed by 2 women- 2 women??? Did they even allow that? Whew- mind totally blown. 100% does this building rise to the top of female led buildings that I have ever been to – what a mark for society to embark on something like this.
The prayer hall in the top photo of this post was of particular note for a visitor as there was absolutely no one there at the time and they allowed for the public to walk the entire carpeted floor except to the very front by the Qibla Wall & Mihrab. One could freely walk up to all the balconies and enjoy the window and wall art on those upper floors.
Museums in a place like this could be very hit or miss, but this was not a miss. I love Islamic typography and art and this museum had a collection of very special pieces of work- some styles I had never seen before. The collection consists of pieces pulled from other large institutions making it an excellent selection with absolutely zero traffic in the middle of the week. I took my time to pause in front of as many as caught my eye and read the well written descriptions- I learned so much.
Having learned this is the largest in all of Turkey, it all comes together. It is really beyond measure the size, but more so the excellence of execution of this space. What we know, ideas we have, how we face the resistance- in the end, it is how we execute that matters.
I had one more mosque to visit on my list for this short 2 day trip to Istanbul, but after visiting Grand Camica Mosque I felt that there could be nothing that would top it. For anyone visiting Istanbul, this is worth the trek as it shows the beauty of the endurance of the Muslim faith across all time.
Address: Ferah, Ferah Yolu Sk. No:6 D:3, 34692 Üsküdar/İstanbul, Türkiye
Website: Archello write up (interesting focus on lighting)
