Once we were properly outfitted, we proceeded inside. Similar to St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, the interior of the Blue Mosque was showered in decadent golden hues. From top to bottom, the walls and ceiling were covered in meticulous artistic detail. We quietly walked through the mosque and observed the atmosphere. In the center, men were kneeling on the bright red carpet, praying.  Upon exiting, there was a gentleman standing outside an office offering to answer any questions we had about the mosque or Islam. I quickly obliged because, well, color me curious. 

I mainly wanted to understand women's role in Islam. In the couple of days we spent in Istanbul, I observed how women conducted themselves. They seemed more conservative and quieter than their counterparts in other cities and rarely ever locked eyes with anyone. Mariana and I would often stumble into cafes or restaurants and enter only to find out that there were only male customers. I was definitely curious to learn more about it. Mariana and I sat on a couch and he handed us a copy of the Quran and some other supplemental material. I thanked him and then proceeded to ask questions like "where are the women praying in the mosque?" (in the back) and "why do some women chose to wear a hijab and others don't?" (some wish to honor Allah's literal word and solely reserve their beauty for their husbands). The answers were straightforward enough. He explained that the Quran regarded women to be an equal mate to a man in every way. Any inequalities perceived may have come through cultural customs, not religious. Many ancient cultures did not regard women as equals and those notions may have passed through the generations.  "But are those notions still standing strong today?" I asked. He smiled and again explained that the Quran regards women as equals. Alright, so maybe this was a more of a cultural conversation than a religious one. In any case, I was glad I had the opportunity to speak with him, as he offered explanations that I never realized before. We thanked him again and departed.

 After leaving the mosque, we walked across the street to Hagia Sophia, a former cathedral turned into a mosque and finally into a museum. Although after looking at the length of the line, we decided to forgo the museum and head to the Grand Bazaar. Because what girl doesn't love to shop.