Türkiye'ye hoşgeldiniz! (Welcome to Turkey!)

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You made it to Turkey! Time to collect the first of many passport stamps.

I do hope you chose to bring your passport with you as one of your 10 items, otherwise, I'm afraid you will have to go home to get it, losing valuable time. If you've not exchanged money yet, please do so at the Istanbul Havalimanı airport so you can pay for bus fare.

When you arrive at Hagia Sophia, you'll find we've hit a glitch. Evidently some Cryptex Crusaders also went to the basilica in search of clues and ransacked the Library of Sultan Mahmud I where you were supposed to visit in hopes of finding a book bearing Sophia's name. That makes our task harder. The online report states:
"On the South corner of the nave, there is a bronze grilled library of Sultan Mahmud I. With its Kütahya & Iznik tiles on the inner walls, the library had a capacity of 5000 books which are preserved in the library of Suleymaniye at the moment." 
The report goes on to say that the library of Suleymaniye has been temporarily closed to visitors and is currently under armed guard to prevent a breakin there as well. A handful of books deemed valueless remain onsite at Hagia Sophia in keeping with Sultan Mahmud I's centuries-old directive that "knowledge should never be lost." Given the size of the basilica and grounds, the book we need could be anywhere.

Perhaps the sign posted on Mahmud's library gate can steer you in the right direction.

(Click images to enlarge)



 


Please translate the sign using either your Turkish>English dictionary (if you packed it) or 250Mb of your data. Remember to type SQ at the end of your query to keep your search untraceable. Here's the verbiage to translate: Kütüphane kapalı. Yardım için hediyelik eşya dükkanını ziyaret edin.