A Selcuk Mosque on the way to Pamukkale

July 16

We visited a Secuk Mosque on the way to Pamukkale today. It ha a very different feel to it, largely due to the many wooden structures within the worship space. A very beautiful mosque... The central area under the dome was not composed of tiles, as most have been. This one had a plaster background and then shapes were filled in individually with small fragments of tile. From a distance, it looks as if it is painted. Up close, one can see the tremendous labor of love...

At the mosque, a Koran school was underway for young boys and girls. As you can see from the photos, many of the girls wanted to have their photos taken. A trio decided to turn the photos into an MTV movie shoot style opportunity! They had great fun looking at the photos as I took them. They followed us to the bus, blowing kisses to us through the windows.

We were told that the Koran schools are state sponsored. This is because when the Koran schools are held privately, they sometimes turn into political Islam.

I purchased a purple scarf with crocheted embroidery around the edge from a woman just outside the mosque. She was kind enough to fix my scarf "the Turkish way" as I entered the mosque. More on our travels to Pamukkale after I get my requisite 4 hours of sleep tonight...