What to See in Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque

One of the most important symbols of the city, the Blue Mosque, which is admired by local and foreign visitors visiting istanbul, is located directly opposite the Hagia Sophia Museum, one of our most important historical monuments. Sultanahmet Square also got its name from the Blue Mosque. This valuable building is one of the most important works gifted to istanbul during the Ottoman Empire. The Blue Mosque was built by the Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I between 1609 and 1616. The work, which is the most typical example of classical Turkish art, is the first mosque originally built with 6 minarets.

The most prominent feature of the Blue Mosque is undoubtedly the abundance of tiles used. The walls of the mosque are decorated with 21043 tiles made of 50 different varieties brought from Iznik and Kütahya. There are motifs belonging to different flower types such as tulips, hyacinths, and narcissus on the tiles with a rich color diversity.

What are worth seeing in Blue Mosque?

1. 6 Minarets

The Blue Mosque is the first 6 minaret mosque among the mosques built by the Ottoman Sultans. Before the mosque was built, the only 6 minaret mosque was the Mecca Mosque and the seventh minaret was added to the Mecca Mosque by Sultan Ahmet I to preserve its honor.

There are 16 balconies of the 6 minarets of the Blue Mosque. The reason why the architect determined the number of cheers in the minarets as 16 is due to the fact that Sultan Ahmet I wanted to emphasize that he was the 16th sultan who took the throne in the Ottoman Empire.

2. A heavy cord from an iron

There is a heavy iron cord at the west entrance of the courtyard. This cord required the sultan, who entered the courtyard with his horse, to bend his head to avoid hitting it. This was regarded as a symbolic action to show that even the sultan should tidy himself when entering the mosque.

3. Magnificent internal structure

The decorations of the mosque consist of more than 20 thousand tiles with 50 different tulip patterns in Iznik. There are flowers, fruits and cypresses on these magnificent tiles made by the tiles in Iznik. All these tiles create a deep blue, peaceful and magnificent scene.

4. Acoustic of the Blue Mosque

The 12 types of marble, acoustic, and the walls and columns used by the Blue Mosque in the interior and decoration show that it has a special acoustic structure due to the fact that it has a special cut and placement for the marble coverings in the mosque.