We visited Eyup, a district of the city of Istanbul.  It is ranked 5th in the Islamic world for sacred sites.  The order is as follows: 1- Mecca; 2- Medina; 3- Jerusalem; 4- Qayrawan, Tunisia; 5- Eyup.  This site is important because the Arabs attempted to take it.  After the Prophet Muhammad died, his standard bearer Abu Ayyub al-Ansari died here after the first attempted Muslim conquest.  Anything that is connected to the Prophet is honored and so one can substitute a pilgrimage to this now recognized urban area.  The ambiance was sacred and gathered with commercial activity.