Blue Mosque

Right across the park from the Arts Museum is the "Blue Mosque" The Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Sultanahmet Camii is nicknamed the Blue Mosque because of the beautiful blue tiles which adorn the interior walls. Unfortunately, a renovation project has most of the ceiling obscured by scaffolding, but it is easy to see why this is one of the most popular tourist sites. There was a short line to get in, and the construction meant there was not a lot of room to wander about. The mosque is in active use, so there are closed off areas for prayer as well.

The mosque was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the reign of Ahmed I who is also buried here. The mosque complex includes the Sultan’s mausoleum, a hospice and a madrasa. The mosque was the first of two in Turkey to have six minarets; the number of minarets on the Ka’aba in Mecca. For this reason he added a seventh minaret so as not to rival Mecca.

The interior of the mosque is lined with over 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles. On the upper levels of the mosque there are 200 intricate stained glass windows; chandeliers hang above the prayer hall; lamps are adorned with gems and gold and Arabic calligraphy decorate key positions. The floors are covered with carpets which are regularly replaced. The mihrab features carved and sculptured marble with intricate decoration. The beautiful mosque is topped by a large central dome and smaller semi-domes.

In the plaza are food carts you see all over town with roasted chestnuts and roasted corn and they really sell this stuff. One guy is husking the corn non-stop while another roasts.

Started walking home but after 20 minutes I realized it was going to kill me to do the full hour walk especially the last bit up the hill. So I flagged down a cab, which took a few tries and got a driver who must have seen the desperation in my eyes as he proposed a fixed price of 200TL (the next morning the return trip was 70TL). The way I felt it was well worth it. Traffic was typically horrible, so it took a half hour.Read more