Exploring Istanbul: The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque)

Summer 2008

 

The cascading domes and six slender minarets of the Sultanahmet Mosque ( the Blue Mosque) dominate the skyline of  Istanbul.


In the 17th century, Sultan Ahmet I wished to build an Islamic place of worship to rival the Ayasofya, and the mosque named for him is the impressive result. The two great architectural achievements stand next to each other in Istanbul's main square
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The Blue Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I as a rival to Hagia Sophia and designed by architect Mehmet Aga (Aga's unfortunate predecessor was fired - i.e., executed).

Construction on the mosque began in 1609 and took seven years. Sultan Ahmet died only a year after the completion of his masterpiece, at the age of 27. He is buried just outside the mosque with his wife and three sons.

Whatever the origins of the unique feature, the six minarets caused quite a scandal, as the mosque in Mecca also had six minarets. The problem was solved by adding a seventh minaret to Mecca's mosque.

The interior's high ceiling is lined with about 20,000 blue tiles that give the mosque its popular name. Fine examples of 16th-century Iznik design, the tiles feature flowers, trees and abstract patterns.
the mosque is still in use and tourist can visit daily for free.

Picture Taken December 2010 (Winter) 

Exploring Istanbul: Hagia Sophia

Picture taken August 2008

 

The Church of Holy Wisdom, known as Hagia Sophia in Greek, and Aya Sofya in Turkish, is a former Byzantine church and former Ottoman mosque in Istanbul. It was converted to a museum, by Ataturk(Mustafa Kemal). The place is universally acknowledged as one of the great buildings of the world.
Today,unfortunately nothing remains of the original Hagia Sophia, which was built on this site in the fourth century by Constantine the Great. Constantine was the first Christian Emperor and the founder of the city of Constantinople, which he called "the New Rome."The Church burned down during the Nika riots in 532. later on the church got built by supervision of Emperor Justinian I.

In 1204 the Ayasofya was sacked and stripped down to the bare bones by the Crusaders, a desecration that robbed the church of precious relics and definitively divided the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Many of Hagia Sophia's riches can be seen today in the treasury of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice.
Despite this setback, Hagia Sophia remained a functioning church until Tuesday, May 29, 1453, when Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror entered triumphantly into the city of Constantinople. He was amazed at the beauty of the Hagia Sophia and decided to convert the cathedral into his imperial mosque.

In 1934, under Turkish president Kemal Atatürk, Hagia Sofia was secularized and turned into the Ayasofya Museum. The prayer rugs were removed, revealing the marble beneath, but the mosaics remained largely plastered over and the building was allowed to decay for some time. Some of the calligraphic panels were moved to other mosques, but eight roundels were left and can still be seen today.

The Entrance fee is 20 Lira(17USD). The Museum is only closed on Mondays.For Turks, currently if you buy a Gold Museum card for 20 lira you can visit any museum.

( Repost from husband's blog: Hagia Sophia )

Daddy Cihangir and Kylie, Picture taken December 2010