When I visited Istanbul for work in 2023, I thought it was a once in a lifetime trip. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get back. I remember thinking how we just don’t do craftsmanship and everyday artistry like people used to. Everywhere in Istanbul are designs, patterns, and decorative details: tiles, rugs, mosques, minarets; tulip-shaped teacups, Turkish delight like mounds of gems, glittering gold mosaics. 

Last week, I got a chance to go to Istanbul again on another work trip. This time, we visited the Hagia Sophia, which I did get to visit last time, and the Blue Mosque, which I didn’t. In Hagia Sophia, we saw mosaics made with gold, which made me think of some of my favorite fiction of all time, The Sarantine Mosaic historic fantasy duology by Guy Gavrial Kay, about a Byzantine mosaicist who decorates the dome of a giant church. The novels include hippodrome chariot racing (we visited the hippodrome in Istanbul), and a riot of colors and perfumes and decoration, just like what we saw all over the city. Now I want to read them again.

The Blue Mosque is only steps away from Hagia Sophia, is about 1100 years newer (1615 compared with 537 A.D.). It’s still decorative, but the decoration is Ottoman instead of Byzantine. It is awe inspiring, both inside and out.

After the Blue Mosque, we visited a studio that makes tiles and ceramics in the same way (from white quartz) as the tiles in the Blue Mosque. We watched a short demonstration while they served us pomegranate tea. I wanted to buy everything, but I did not.