Michael in Turkey

This octagonal building was a training school for Imam's (mosque leaders). Though the guidebook says it's closed to the public, I was invited in and toured the ınner courtyard. I saw about 40 teens studying the Koran (they spend about 3 years memorizing it by "chanting" it aloud, often accompanied by a rocking motion). Most were as interested in me as I was of them, and we talked through our mutual broken Turkish/English. I spent about 20 minutes in there, and even had my picture taken with some of them. Since there is a fear of the radical/conservative religious in Ankara, some of my colleagues disapproved of my going there.