By Shohana Khan www.themuslimweekly.com As we drove into the centre of Istanbul on a quiet Sunday night from Istanbul airport, the magnificence of what we were approaching was enough to sparkle any imagination. The city centre was lit up by the impressive Sultanahmet Mosque whose magnitude was of awe. The remains of the Byzantium Empire, the Hagia Sophia, which is now a mosque, stood just as grandly on the opposite side.

This place, my husband and I knew, was going to be nothing like any other cities we had experienced, Buckingham Palace of London, seemed nothing in comparison.
Our next couple of days in Istanbul were almost magical. The visit to Topkapi Palace being the highlight. TopKapi Palace, the palace of the last few Caliphs of the Ottoman Empire, now a museum, was a fascinating experience. The long-stretched courtyards, filled with greenery and fountains, the massive inscriptions of Quranic verses all over the Palace served as a unique insight into how the rulers of the Islamic Empire used to live. The entire Palace seemed never ending - there were Courts of law, education facilities for the administration, for the women, for the children, libraries, treasuries, and of course the living quarters of the Caliph and for his family.

What was particularly striking was the sense of peace and tranquility you felt, as you walked around the entire palace. Unlike many European Palaces, which are compressed with so many ornaments, exquisite decor and richness, Topkapi Palace was grand, but almost simple. Although there was grandeur particularly in the Caliphأ¢â‚¬â„¢s quarters, the feelings of sickly ornateness had not pervaded the decor. Rather cool tiles and mosaic, geometrical design and inscriptions of the Quran made up most the interior design. One of the most memorable experiences of our trip.

The Dolmabahce palace was the last palace of the Ottoman Empire, which the last Caliph built and moved to early in the last century. Although the palace was not absent of Quranic inscriptions, unlike Topkapi, there was a distinct influence of the European style decor. The lavish ornate style of European Palaces resounded through the place. The culture which Turkey wishes to take on for itself today - the desire to meet East withWest could be seen in the decor of Dolmabahce.

Our visit to the SultanAhmet Mosque was even more overwhelming than when we saw it for the first time. The way it stands so magnificently in the centre of Istanbul, proves that it is still an object of awe for all tourists and visitors. Being there, amongst the rest of the Muslims, from around the world, hearing the call for prayer, and going to pray, was a wonderful experience which we would never get living in Britain. However although things inside the mosque felt so tranquil and Islamic, outside the mosque, on the streets of Istanbul, we were surprised to witness that Islam was not a large feature of Turkish lives. the mosques were usually full of tourists rather than locals and the hijab was virtually nowhere to be seen, amongst Turkish women. Not only do you not see it in the public institutions, as it is banned there, but you do not even see it on the streets. The locals were lovely, but were shocked to find out that I came from the UK, and chose to wear a scarf. The response was quite surprising.

Our travelling around Turkey was made quite easy with a comprehensive and extensive to say the least, bus and coach service. There are dozens of different services you can use, all at competitive prices. We did learn that some were better than others - after having to endure a five hour journey with no air conditioning and people packed in like sardines, along with agricultural produce which they were carrying with them.

We chose to come to Turkey to experience to what extent we could, an Islamic atmosphere, and the reality was that our stay in Istanbul did not really give us that experience. Apart from the Islamic heritage, it really did feel as if like we were in Paris or Milan.

Our travels thus took us to Konya, which our guidebook told us, was meant to be the most Islamic of places. On arrival we did not find it to be significantly different from other Turkish towns, apart from finding that the Sufi group, the Whirling Dervishes, founded by Maulana Rumi - a famous Sufi philosopher and poet, originated there.

Ephesus was an experience of Roman civilisation, although I have to admit, under the intense heat of the sun, roaming around a large sandy expanse was not really my cup of tea. My husband however was in contrast extremely enthusiastic, which can be seen by the endless reels of photos he was taking.

Through our whole trip, I had my husband nagging continuously at me that he had notbrought his swimming shorts and beach stuff along with him for no reason. So I finally gave into his demands and we travelled down to the famous Turkish beach spot - Oludeniz. It being the summer, and one of the most popular resorts for British holidaymakers, already I was imagining a Turkish Ibiza.

Fearing the beach would be swamped by British tourists, we set off in the early morning, my husband excitedly with all his swimming gear, for the beach. And when we arrived it really was just as beautiful as the photos.

The water was crystal clear, the sand was almost white and the view was stunning as you could see islands in the distance. Although not the best of holiday experiences for a Muslim sister, as I spent my entire day sitting under an umbrella with a book, whilst my husband swam the breadth of the sea and back - a view worth seeing. However the beach very soon did become packed with British tourists, whose attire and conduct soon made both of us decide that we wanted to move on.

Finally Parmukkale was a memorable place - the salt cliffs which a guide very emphatically told us, were a wonder of the world. And I do believe him. Massive stretches of snow white salt cliffs, with warm gushing springs forming crystal clear pools everywhere - something really worth seeing.

The food of Turkey still makes ones mouth water, if I think of it now. Every meal was a real feast, being relatively cheap compared to the UK. Food mainly consisted of succulent kebabs, refreshing salad, lots of warm fresh bread. Turkish delights were not usually a specialty, much to our delight!