lovely to see an old friend
First night in Istanbul, with students in a cafe
sultanahmet Camii in daytime
students getting a crash course in carpets
Yekta jan in Sultanahmet
Maryam and Dave on a rooftop restaurant
group inside "little Aya Sophia", build in 527 CE.
Sultanahmet Camii dome
old friend
Dolmabahce
Mecidiyye Mosque in Ortakoy
Rumeli Hisar from the sea.
UNC posse on Bosphorous tour
Maryam jan
Moghul era carpet
Erdag Goknar, the translator for Orhan Pamuk, talking with our group
Dome of the chamber of the Holy Relics in Topkapi
Shafa'at ya Nabi Allah, Topkapi Palace, Holy Relics Chambers
Relics of the Prophet Muhammad
Sword and Bow of the Prophet
Nasrun min allah wa fathun qarib, wa bashshir al-mu'minin, Ya Muhammad
ya waliya kull mazlum
Aynur, our wonderful tour guide.
Burial chamber for Suleyman the magnificent
reminiscent of Dome of the Rock
Qalandar-khaneh Camii, former Byzantine Church.
Icon of Virgin and Child, from Greek Orthodox Patriarch
Greek Orthodox Patriarch. the facade was built by 3 artists, took 45 years.
Lunch at Asitane, great Ottoman restaurant
one of the tender depictions of Hazrat Maryam and Hazrat Isa at St. Chora
The dudes
Oruc Guvenc, great master of Turkish Sufi music
Tumata center in Istanbul, with amazing ancient instruments....
and more amazing dervishes
greatest church in the world for over 1000 years
Aynur in action
When guides become friends
Divine names written in the reading room of the Aya Sophia
hadith forecasting the conquest of Istanbul, written in Aya sophia
inscriptions near mihrab of Aya sophia
Asking for intercession of the Prophet
Underground cistern
Seeing Cemalnur Hoca
Rob in action
Safavid copy of Qur'an
amazing hilya: with asma written as cypress trees.
Adam and Eve
Silver Hilya, with names of Angels
the whole gang
Sokollu Mehmet Pasha
The Fatiha, panel by panel
Tomb of the Shaykh al-Islam for Suleyman the Magnificent, in Eyup Sultan
Kecia in action
sisters
Cemalnur Hoca
Four amigos, in Eyup.
with my favorite Zeyno
Fertility goddesses in the Ancient Anatolian Museum
Ataturk mausoleum
tomb of Ataturk
standing
dome of a Saljuq caravan
mosque of a Saljuq caravan
UNC posse in Cappadocia
Rob and I
Hannah for President posters
loving doors
Goreme valley
monastic chapels carved into the valley at Goreme
group shot in Goreme
St. George slaying the dragon (of nafs)
Traditional Turkish ice cream
Joe trying his hands at pottery
near Zelve, in Cappadocia
Underground city in Cappadocia
Haji Bektash Veli
students getting a lecture from the director of Haji Bektash Veli shrine
Uways al-Qarani
Mountain overlooking Ugrup
Amazing homes built into the mountain
Cappadocia in Sunset light
Shams-e Tabrizi
children around Shams' shrine
with students behind Mawlana's tomb
Majzub friend blessing a strand of the Prophet (S)'s hair
Sadr al-Din' qunawi's tomb, open to the Heavens
Sadr al-Din qunawi's tomb
My new friends at the tomb of Atesh-baz Veli. The young boy was adorable and truthful, saying that we shouldn't go to the bottom of the saint's tomb, since "he is sleeping and if we make too much noise, he will wake up."
Inside Atesh-baz Veli
Rumi's cook, Atesh baz veli
Karatay madrasa gate
Saljuq door
Ince Minaret madrasa, used for teaching hadith of the Prophet
Sharing the visit to Konya monuments with a few hundred Turkish students
Ya Hazrat-e Mawlana....
This place is the ka'ba for the lovers Whoever comes here incomplete, leaves whole.
Akseher, the city of the wise/fool sage, Mulla Nasr al-Din
Our little community, in Pammakule
Calcium deposits, turning rocks beautiful.
Sophia icon, in front of Ephesus library
The Cave of the Sleepers (Ashab-e kahf)
Shirinje village
House of Hazrat Maryam
Princes, in Eyup Sultan
Aaaah, min al-mawt
interview with Asilihan, through Channel 7 of Turkish TV
angels welcoming chickpeas
Eyup Sultan
with an old friend, Mehmet Cirak
with Efdaluddin Kilic, calligraphy master
Back to the Holy Relics in Topkapi
19th century courtyard
Interview with the Mufti of Istanbul. superb translation by Yekta Zulfikar.
My brother, Adam.
mosque for pigeons, in Valide Sultan Camii, in Uskudar
Mihrimah Camii, in Uskudar
Hasan Celebi, grandshaykh of calligraphers in Istanbul
Hal jaza al-ihsan illa Ihsan can the reward of making beautiful (ihsan) be other than ihsan?
maghrib in istanbul
isha in sultanahmet
