Turkey delighted me when I visited that mysterious country in 2006.  We were on a cruise with MSC Musica from Venice, Italy, and visited several ports in Europe.  One of our stops was in Izmir and another one in Istanbul.  I had to get out of our taxi which we took from the cruise port to the Mosque to actually venture closer and even go in the Mosque.  Nobody else in the car wanted to go into the Mosque, but I could not let such beauty and magnificence pass me by.

Here are some pictures of the Blue Mosque in Izmir, Turkey:

Blue Mosque, Izmir, Turkey

Blue Mosque, Izmir, Turkey

Blue Mosque, Izmir, Turkey

Izmir, Turkey – near the Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque, Izmir, Turkey

Blue Mosque, Izmir, Turkey

Blue Mosque, Izmir, Turkey

This was taken inside the Mosque

Blue Mosque, Izmir, Turkey

Blue Mosque, Izmir, Turkey

Last look at the Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque, Izmir, Turkey

Then it was time to get back to the MSC Musica

MSC Musica

Turkey is an incredibly beautiful country that I have to explore much more on a future visit.  The amount of time that you get while on a cruise port of visit is not adequate enough when visiting a land that is full of cultural mystique and glory as Turkey is.  My next post will include more pictures taken in Istanbul.