Fezs are cool...

...but not as cool as Istanbul. Or Constantinople. Or Byzantium. Or New Rome. Seriously, folks, make up your minds...

The many long centuries of regime change have led to an interesting mix of culture... or layers more like. More on that, though, in another post when I have better internet. For now I have a post dedicated to my mother: tiles that look like quilt patterns (plus one stained glass window).

These are Iznik tiles and the most prevalent colors are turquoise, blue, and white (early 16th c.).

Wall niches are a popular feature to decorate with tiles in this way.

Flowers are a very common design in addition to the geometrics. Tulips make their way into the designs after the rule of Sultan Ahmet III, who had them planted all over the city at great cost. They're in bloom right now, in fact...

The focus on turquoise, white and black, as well as the geometric pattern, means these are probably Seljuk tiles, so more like 15th c.

And the stained glass is just as lovely...

Wall quilt... literally.

And gold, because the sultan's could afford it.

These were all taken in the Tiled Pavilion, which was once a part of Topkapi Palace and is thought to be the earliest surviving non-religious building in Istanbul (1472). I highly recommend visiting the Istanbul Archaeology Museums--even just this was worth it. Never mind the tiled decorations of the Ishtar Gate (Babylon) or any of the other Central Asian, Egyptian, and Greek/Roman antiquities. It's also the shortest line for the Museum Pass (winner for the longest goes to the Aya Sofya).