Sightseeing in Edirne

Trip Start Apr 14, 2006
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Trip End Jul 2008


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Flag of Turkey  ,
Wednesday, December 27, 2006

The day got off to a late start. I got into the center of Edirne by myself, a 10 minute ride on a bus or dolmus (minibus.) The dolmuses in Edirne are fantastic. I never had to wait more than 5 minutes while i was in Edirne, and instead of having set stops you can flag one down or get off anywhere along the set route. You would think it would slow the whole thing down but it works.
 
So anyway I decided to see two mosques that day on my own. When I was getting myself oriented in the center I heard the midday call to prayer. It was obvious that Turkey is very secular, especially in the Western parts. The call to prayer filled the streets in Edirne 5 times a day of course, but I didn't see any change among the people walking around - it's not like everyone rushes to the mosques. So the first mosque I went to, the Eski Cami, isn't famous at all, but was pretty cool with calligraphy drawn on the walls 01. outside of Eski Cami
01. outside of Eski Cami
 . I was the only tourist there. I knew enough to take my shoes off (you carry them in with you and place them on shelves) but I made the mistake of not covering my head. Well I was there for the end of the midday prayer, I didn't take pictures and just tried to look unobtrusive til it was over. Afterwards I asked the immam by pointing if it was ok to take pictures, it was fine, and he asked me to cover my head also by pointing. I had a scarf since it was winter so it was no problem. He didn't seem upset at all.
 
The next mosque I saw, the Selimiye Camii, is the main attraction in Edirne, but I still only saw 2 families who were obviously tourists. It was really beautiful inside, more ornate than the first one. I took lots of pictures.
 
So the rest of the day was really low key. I called Volkan and we met up in the center, went to the bazaar first. I thought Americans invented the shopping mall, but in fact they have been around forever. That's exactly what a bazaar is only in a cooler old building. So I learned something. After that Volkan and I walked around Edirne some more, drank some beer and some tea, saw a couple bridges that Edirne is known for, and went back to his place and watched another movie. He has a movie projector so watching a movie is more exciting than usual.
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