We did two things today.
Blue Mosque. Incredible. The exterior architecture is magnificent, and the interior is equally so. Beautiful carpets adorn the floors and only a few massive pillars (at least 4 yards in diameter) hold up the domes from inside, leaving incredible wide open spaces for prayer. We had to take our shoes off to get inside, and it was cold!
All day was cold, cold and windy. It had reached -16°C in Kiev at times, but there was no wind. Here, at -2°C, the windchill was killer. And inside the Blue Mosque or not did not matter -- our feet were frozen and our hands were numb. But that did not stop us from appreciating the beautiful grandeur. As I said to Jonas, "and muslims think the western world is decadent?" This place is one of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen.
Until Hagia Sofia. Although the breathtaking exterior is a tad overshadowed by the Blue Mosque, and the 20 Lira entrance fee is a bit steep, Hagia Sofia is unbelievable. I have no words that can do it justice, and I cannot wait to learn more about it and return (to the Blue Mosque as well). It was a church first, built around 330, I believe, and was converted in the 15th century into a mosque. Today, it's a museum, and still gorgeous.
Jonas and I didn't do much else. We broke out a bottle of Żubrowka that I had picked up at duty-free in Харкiв, and enjoyed a bit. We played a bit of pool, and chatted with a German girl named Lilly and her French friends.
Oh, and we watched one of the most disturbing films I've ever seen, called the Last Circus. It's a Spanish film about a sad clown who has every reason to be sad, and his spiraling out of control amongst the world he knows that's deteriorating around him. Highly recommended. Crazy, crazy film.
That's pretty much it.
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