Blue Mosque Istanbul

Posted by Vacation

Posted on Mar - 7 - 2013

Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque!

Blue Mosque is historical mosque in area where is known as historical pennisula in Istanbul. There are so many historical places in this area as well as Blue Mosque. The building was finished 1616 after seven-year construction period. Blue Mosque was designed by architect Sedefkâr Mehmet Ağa who was student of Mimar Sinan. The building is open for visiting and also it is used for praying. The building was named as Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.

The design of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is the culmination of two centuries of both Ottoman mosque and Byzantine church development. It incorporates some Byzantine elements of the neighboring Hagia Sophia with traditional Islamic architecture and is conshttp://www.vacationlist.net/wp-admin/post-new.phpidered to be the last great mosque of the classical period. The architect has ably synthesized the ideas of his master Sinan, aiming for overwhelming size, majesty and splendour. It has one main dome, six minarets, and other eight secondary domes.

The main entrance to the Blue Mosque is on the Hippodrome side. Inner courtyard has large area and there is a fountain in the middle of this area. You can ideally view the main and other domes from this area.

There are three entrances to the Blue Mosque interior. The wealthy and colorful vista inside created by the paintings, tiles and stained glass complements the exterior view. The interior has a centralized plan; the main and side domes rise on four large columns that support broad and pointed arches. The walls of the galleries surrounding the three sides of the interior chamber are decorated by over 20,000 exquisite Iznik tiles. The areas above the tiles and the inside of the domes are decorated with paintwork.

The blue of the paintwork, which gives the mosque its name, was not the color of the decorations originally; they were painted blue during later restorations. During the last renovation, completed in 1990, the darker blue color of the interior decorations painted as its original light colors.

The floor is covered by carpets, as in all mosques. Next to the mihrab (niche aligned towards Mecca) opposite the main entrance, there is a marble minber (pulpit) with exquisite marble work. On the other side is the sultan’s loge (box) in the form of a balcony. The 260 windows flood with light the interior space, which is covered by a dome 23.5 m in diameter and 43 m high.

The small market building, repaired and reconstructed in recent years, is situated to the east of the mosque, and the single-domed mausoleum of Sultan Ahmet and the medrese (religious school) building are to the north, on the Hagia Sophia side.