Hajj Tile from Mecca ©2011 by Trici Venola. This naive tile is cemented into a whole frieze of floral blue ones to the left of the main prayer entrance to Rustem Pasha Mosque, part of the stunning bouquet of 16th-century Iznik tiles. As I drew, lots of people walking out after prayer told me that it's a very old depiction of Mecca: six minarets, double doors, and the big black sacred stone in the middle, a keepsake from someone's hajj-- holy pilgrimage. Of all the mosques, Rustem Pasha is held in the greatest affection and this tile in particular. The Imam- priest- liked this drawing and invited me to draw inside the mosque.

Hajj Tile from Mecca ©2011 by Trici Venola. This naive tile is cemented into a whole frieze of floral blue ones to the left of the main prayer entrance to Rustem Pasha Mosque, part of the stunning bouquet of 16th-century Iznik tiles. As I drew, lots of people walking out after prayer told me that it's a very old depiction of Mecca: six minarets, double doors, and the big black sacred stone in the middle, a keepsake from someone's hajj-- holy pilgrimage. Of all the mosques, Rustem Pasha is held in the greatest affection and this tile in particular. The Imam- priest- liked this drawing and invited me to draw inside the mosque.