First Visit to a Mosque? We’ve Got you Covered!

Istanbul is a city of mosques, around 3,000 of them. They range in size from tiny ‘neighbourhood’ mosques to soaring and dazzling grand ones. Some (notably Haghia Sofia) were Christian churches converted into mosques after Constantinople was captured by the Turks in 1453. But by far the majority have been built since that time, and have always been mosques.

While many of them are gorgeous and insta-worthy, mosques are, first and foremost, religious places. This post offers mosque etiquette, to keep you from causing an international incident, and tips about how to orientate yourself.

Mosque Modesty

Just about all mosques are open to visitors (even the not-famous ones). The ones that are well-touristed are also well-marked, and well-supervised. There will probably be signs and/or someone will tell you if you are doing something wrong. Don’t take it personally, even if they yell at you: guarding a mosque is hard work and some tourists are jerks (not us, and not you). Because mosques are holy spaces, visitors should behave appropriately. Here is what this means: take off your shoes before stepping on the carpet of the entryway. (Smart tourists wear slip-off shoes so they do not find themselves in the doorway tying their shoes with their butts in the air.) There are usually low bookshelf-type shelves to leave your shoes; when there aren’t, just leave them outside the mosque. We have also seen people carrying their shoes. (They probably own more expensive shoes than we do.)

Modesty is also important. Legs are not on show (i.e. no shorts). And women cover their hair. Often-visited mosques have stalls outside where women can buy, rent, or borrow a scarf if they arrive without one; they also have big scarves you can tie around your legs if needed. But get your own: countries with mosques usually also sell beautiful scarves! Proper headcoverings are a bit complicated, All you are really aiming for is to cover the majority of your hair. Divide the scarf roughly into thirds and put the shorter third hanging down from one side of your face. Wrap the middle third around your hair and behind your head, leaving the final third to hang from the other side of your face. If needed, pull the fabric over your forehead.

Once you get inside, you will almost certainly see a line or a small fence that demarcates a space for worshippers. There will be a separate women’s prayer area, usually toward the back, and toward the front you may see people praying. Sometimes there will be signs reminding you to be silent, and sometimes there will not. The separation of space usually means that you will not bother those praying if you feel the need to whisper. (And in some large mosques, we have heard tour guides giving their spiels.)

That’s about all you need to know. We have, incidentally, seen many Muslim children running around mosques (those nice open spaces!). And once we saw a man splayed out on the floor just inside the doorway. We assumed he was praying but it turns out he was trying to take a picture of his son at ground level. Which also reminds us: lots of people, Muslim and not, take pictures in mosques. Sometimes there will be a sign asking you not to use a flash, but usually not. In nearly every mosque we have ever visited, in a dozen countries, things are pretty chill. Just use common sense.

What’s in Mosques

The sense of space within the mosque itself, created by the soaring domes, is hard to describe, and photography almost never captures the experience of being inside. Domes and vaults appear in a variety of styles, and some can literally take your breath away when you first see them. (The architectural term, we think, is ‘suh-weet’.)

There are two things you will see in any mosque. The first is the mihrab, the niche in the wall that faces towards Mecca. It is here that the imam leads the faithful in prayer during formal prayer times. There is also a minbar – not a minibar, a minbar – which is the pulpit from which the imam preaches his Friday sermon. Some of these are plain but some are exquisitely adorned.

Outside of the mosque are the famous minarets, the tall towers from which the faithful are called to prayer five times a day. Some smaller mosques have only one, most have two, but some really important ones have four or more. In an acknowledgement of the advantages of technology, the minarets now have speakers set on the minarets rather than an actual person. The quality of these speakers could, alas, be better, but presumably that’s not the concern. And speaking of the call to prayer, avoid mosques during these times: they are usually not open to visitors (times vary by season, but the most relevant are around noon/one and around four/five in the afternoon). Mosques also, nearly always, have fountains in their courtyards or just outside for the ritual washing that occurs before praying.

We expect that we’ll continue to learn more about mosques during our time in Istanbul. And we figure if we visit 50 mosques each day, we’ll be able to see all of them!