This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 36-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).
Today’s travel notes
Me and the TC spent a week in Turkey recently. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque, was on our itinerary. The TC, bless her cotton socks, confided that she was rather dreading the experience, as she felt she’d be viewed as a second class person, being a woman, and she’d have to cover her head with a scarf. She probably would not have entered, except that the rest of our group was planning to visit the mosque. Afterwards, she said it wasn’t as disturbing as she’d expected, since the other women looked happy and comfortable in their scarves too.
The book I’m in
We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, by Dennis E Taylor. The TC has just started this book. I predict I’ll find myself tucked into many more of the Bobiverse series.
Travel tip
If you’re a woman, take a headscarf with you. You need to don the scarf and doff your shoes before entering the mosque. If you don’t have a scarf, the mosque attendants supply you with one. They also give you a plastic bag for carrying your shoes around. You hand in the bag for recycling when you leave.
The photos
Me and a cup of coffee on a table in Turkey. It’s nowhere near Istanbul or the Blue Mosque:
:
The Blue Mosque, seen from Kabasakal Cd, with the seating of Efsunlu Dünya in the foreground:
Another view of the Blue Mosque, this time from Ayasofya Meydani:
The Ottoman sultan Ahmed I built the Blue Mosque in the years 1609 to 1616, making it much less ancient than the nearby Hagia Sophia.
The inner courtyard:
One of three entrances:
Inside the mosque:
The mosque acquired the name Blue Mosque because people notice quite a bit of blue in the decorations. This worm doesn’t think it’s particularly blue.
Part of the praying area for men:
The praying area for women is much smaller, situated at the rear of the hall.
More of the inside of the mosque:
On leaving the mosque, you emerge on the Sultan Ahmet Cami. This is view of the mosque as you leave:
That’s all for today, folks.
Travelling Worm 
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