The Blue Mosque

Sultan Ahmed Mosque is most important Ottoman symbol. Sultan Ahmed Mosque is known as The Blue Mosque by foreign people and tourists due to blue tiles on the walls. Blue Mosque is most important and familiar mosque in İstanbul. The most distinctive feature of the Blue Mosque that is first six minares mosque in Ottoman history. The Blue Mosque is standing opposite side of Hagia Sophia and beside Byzantine Hippodrome. Sultan Ahmet Mosque is entered to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985 under name the Istanbul Historical Areas.

The Blue mosque was built by royal architect Sedefkar Mehmet Aga with Sultan Ahmed I order at between 1609 – 1616. The Blue Mosque was built on site of old Byzantine Palace. Beginning of the 17th cenutry, it was a hard time for Ottoman Empire and They made war for 15 years with Austria – Hungary Empire. Sultan ahmed I decided to build a huge mosque in İstanbul. İt was not built only a mosque

The design of The Blue Mosque has Byzantine and traditional islamic architecture traces. . The Blue Mosque has one main dome and eight secondary domes, four pillars and six minarets with three The tiles on the wall of the mosque are made in İznik (Nicea), Bursa entrances. The Mosque’s interior walls decorated with more than 20 thousans tiles. The main dome and the smaller domes are standing on four huge pillars. Main dome is 34 meters height and about 260 windows are taking sunlight. Marble Mihrab shows direction of Mecca.

Time of Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic everyday five times Muslims pray in The Blue Mosque. 400 years after construction, The Blue Mosque still serves people.