LITTLE HAGIA SOFIA AND MEHMET PASHA MOSQUES

One day we visited two mosques.  First up was Little Hagia Sofia.  Built in the 6th century as an Eastern Orthodox church, it is one of the loveliest examples of Byzantine architecture. 

The adjacent cemetery.  Turbans for the men, flowers for the ladies. 

 Our second mosque of the day was Mehmet Pasha.  We arrived in the late morning but school children told us it was closed.  We returned later during prayers and waited outside until they were over, while other tourists went inside, cameras in hand.  We were rewarded for our patience with a conversation with a local man who introduced us to the imam and chatted about his time in the US and told us about the Muslim services.

It also has a cemetery.