This morning was the Islamic religious holiday of Eid (Bajram). I knew it was going to hit this week so I was worried about the buses from Bulgaria being sold out. Also I expected it to be Wednesday which is when it is being celebrated in Canada but I was told it would be on Tuesday.

I asked when the prayer would be and was told 5am which seemed very odd before even the morning prayer call at sunrise. Everywhere else does it from 7.30am onwards. I've never been in Turkey for Eid and don't know how it is celebrated here. I was going to try for 7am and if I've missed the prayer then I'll pray later.



















I went to a mosque next to my hotel about 7.15am. There were some pensioners there and by 730 more were arriving. It seemed only pensioners were here but then some younger people were arriving. Nobody was dressed up as in Malaysia but that might just be this neighbourhood which is not well off.

By 7.45am they started the prayer, same as all other countries so not sure why I was told 5am by the cab driver. At the end of the prayer they did two unusual things I've only seen in Turkey



First they all started chanting in chorus verses from the Quran led by an orator from the back. I've never seen this done in a mosque before and they were all synchronized showing familiarity. Then when they were done instead of leaving they formed a line to greet the Imam/Mufti.

Then they stood next to him extending the line outwards. As each new person greeted the Imam they continued shaking hands of the people that had joined the line after the Imam. Once they reached the end of the handshake line they stood at the end of the line extending it further outwards.



















It was a bit confusing how the line would end with this type of continuous loop but I seemed to be the last person, as I didn't know what was going on, and they all dispersed once I went down the line.

Now I needed to exchange money as I hadn't paid the hotel and I needed to buy food. I figured with the holiday things will either be shut or open late. Best to goto Sultanhamet which is the tourist heart as places will probably be open there.



This is my third time in Istanbul so I don't need to do all the touristic things and was familiar with the area. Following the tram line to Sultanhamet there were cafes and restaurant places open but the money exchange places were shut.

I found one and exchanged my last Bulgarian Lev. Before exchanging a 100 euro note I wanted to find other exchanges to make sure I was gettting a good rate as it was a large amount.



















I wandered around the Blue Mosque, Hippdrome, Arasta Bazaar, and Haga Sophia, the touristic heart looking for a money changer. The Haga Sophia was closed for the holiday so I decided to go towards the Grand Bazaar.

Smart people had come to the Blue Mosque for prayers and there were more people dressed up but it would have been too far for me and the hotels here are more expensive.



















I found another large group of koreans waiting outside their hotel so chatted with them again in korean for practice some before I forget everything

The Grand Bazaar was surprisingly shut too, probably the only day it ever does. I found another money exchange so went ahead as I needed to eat and was too scared to spend on my last 15 Lira.




















As most places were shut I was able to look more at the Mosque architecture. Although I've been here two times already I guess coming up thru the Balkans and looking at all the Turkish Mosques I had a new perspective seeing them in their heartland.

They seem to be more restored and in better condition than my last visits, though some of the smaller ones are still run down. I guess with so many they have to pick and choose and it will be a slow process to restore them all.
 
Then I made it to Aksaray Metro where I had started yesterday with my cab so I had come full circle from where I had started from.














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