Blue Mosque

ISTANBUL
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Blue Mosque, (Sultanahmet Cami)

The Blue Mosque is one of the most prominent landmarks of Istanbul. It is very impressive with its beautiful domes and semi domes, nice courtyards and six slender minarets. Sultan Ahmet 1 founded the Blue Mosque. It was built between 1609- 1616 and also it was named after him. The whole complex was completed in 1616.

It is an extraordinary mosque with six minarets. The dome itself is suspended overhead by four huge, elephantine columns and have 23 m in diameter and it is 43 m in height. There are 260 windows flooding lights everywhere.

Sultan Ahmet I wanted to have a mosque with minarets made of gold which is altin in Turkish. The architect misunderstood him as alti which means six in English. However, the Sultan Ahmed I liked the minarets so much. Prior to that time, no sultan had a mosque with 6 minarets.

Upon the entrance to the mosque, you should pay attention to the gate. The gate is a typical Seljuk- Turkish wooden works with a geometrical design in its center. If you wonder about the star, it symbolizes the Turkish Generation and very typical of early 11-12th Century Turkish Art.

After the gate, you will meet with the breathtaking interior of the mosque with its chandeliers and blue tiles. The mosque is all surrounded by beautiful 17Century Blue Iznik tiles, which give its name to the Blue Mosque. The interior of the mosque is decorated by masses of beautifully designed blue, green, yellow and red tiles. All the more stunning are the color stain glass windows which make this the most colorful mosque

Sultanahmed mosque is just in the middle of sultanahmed square, it is almost in the center of the touristy area. Entry into the mosque is free and it is open from 0900 to 1800. The North door of the Mosque is used for tourists where the west door of the mosque was reserved for Muslim prayers. It is required for ladies to bring a head scarves or you can borrow one from the entrance.

One important warning is; if you happen to visit the mosque while somebody is praying, do not walk in front of them. Muslims didn’t like anyone walking in front of them at prayer because it might be misinterpreted that they were praying to the person in front of them instead of to God.

Blue Mosque Picture Gallery: