Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

Overview

Six slender minarets rise above the trees of Sultanahmet, and a cascade of gray domes builds up to one great dome in the middle. Across a garden stands Hagia Sophia, the church it was built to rival. Inside, thousands of tiles and painted flowers turn the light blue. This is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known to the world as the Blue Mosque. Our Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque tour pairs it with Hagia Sophia across the square.

The Blue Mosque is still a working mosque, so you visit between the five daily prayers. Come early, take off your shoes and look up. Then spend a few minutes in the courtyard, an open space in the old city. Short on time? Read Hagia Sophia or the Blue Mosque.

The Blue Mosque at a Glance

The mosque stands in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, on the southeast side of the old Byzantine Hippodrome. Hagia Sophia faces it across the square, and the Basilica Cistern lies a few minutes’ walk away.

It belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Historic Areas of Istanbul, listed in 1985. The mosque even gave its name to the whole neighborhood, which Istanbul now calls Sultanahmet.

History of the Blue Mosque

A young sultan’s great project

After the Peace of Zsitvatorok with the Habsburgs, seen as a blow to Ottoman pride, the young Sultan Ahmed I decided to build a great mosque to win God’s favor. He chose a site of huge symbolic value, beside the Hippodrome and facing Hagia Sophia.

However, religious scholars protested. By tradition, sultans paid for imperial mosques with the spoils of war, and Ahmed had won no great victories. The palaces of viziers, including that of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, also had to be bought and torn down. Even so, the sultan went ahead, and work began in 1609.

Completion and restoration

The mosque opened in 1617, and Ahmed I died around the same time. In the end, its beauty won the city over. Most recently, after a long restoration, the mosque reopened.

What to See in the Blue Mosque

The courtyard

Before you enter, walk into the courtyard. Arcades with 26 columns and 30 small domes surround it, while an eight-sided fountain stands in the middle. At the entrance from the Hippodrome, look for a heavy iron chain. Tradition has it that it made the sultan bow his head each time he rode in, as a sign of humility before God.

The dome and the light

Inside, the main dome rests on four huge fluted pillars. Around it, four semi-domes and smaller half-domes step down like a waterfall. Six rows of windows let in the light, although most of the original colored glass has been replaced.

The İznik tiles

The mosque holds 21,043 İznik tiles with tulips, cypress trees and fruit. Then look up at the painted walls above the tiles. Their blue floral designs gave the mosque its popular name.

The mihrab, minbar and sultan’s loge

At the front, the mihrab (the niche that shows the direction of prayer) and the minbar are carved from fine marble. In the corner, a raised platform on ten columns was the sultan’s private place of prayer. Notice also the inlaid courtyard doors, which were made by the father of the traveler Evliya Çelebi.

The six minarets

A popular story says the architect misheard “altın minareler” (golden minarets) as “altı minare” (six minarets). Historians, however, call this a legend. Either way, the six fluted towers still make the mosque easy to spot from across the old city.

Today, the Grand Çamlıca Mosque on Çamlıca Hill also has six minarets.

The tomb of Ahmed I

Next to the Hippodrome, the domed tomb of Ahmed I holds the sultan, his wife Kösem and four of his sons, among them Sultans Osman II and Murad IV. It was completed after his death by his son Osman II.

The Mother-of-Pearl Architect

The architect, Sedefkâr Mehmed Agha, took his nickname from his first craft: sedefkâr means a master of mother-of-pearl inlay. He trained as a pupil of Mimar Sinan. He based the design on Sinan’s Şehzade Mosque, but aimed for more size and splendor.

Behind the Blue Mosque: Arasta and a Lost Palace

Before you leave through the courtyard, walk around to the back of the mosque. Behind it, on the side away from Hagia Sophia, runs the Arasta Bazaar, once called the Sipahiler Çarşısı, the market of the cavalrymen. Beneath it lies the Great Palace Mosaic Museum. Its rents once helped pay for the mosque complex, so the shops are part of the same foundation. Today it is a short street of ceramics, textiles and carpets. Our One Day in Istanbul tour joins the mosque with Hagia Sophia and the two bazaars, and our Islamic heritage of Istanbul tour visits it after the Süleymaniye.

Under part of the bazaar lie the floor mosaics of the Byzantine Great Palace. However, the Great Palace Mosaic Museum is closed. Ask us to confirm before you go.

How to Visit the Blue Mosque

Visiting the Blue Mosque

• Entrance: visitors who are not praying usually enter by the side doors of the prayer hall. Getting there: the Sultanahmet stop on the T1 tram is a short walk away.
• Visits: the mosque opens to visitors every day, with longer visiting hours from April to September.
• Prayer times: visits pause during the five daily prayers. On Fridays, sightseeing starts only after the noon prayer.
• Entry: it is free, but free does not mean always open, so check the day’s prayer times first.
• Time needed: allow 30 to 45 minutes, or longer if you want to study the tiles.
• Dress code: cover shoulders and knees, while women also cover their hair. See our guide to Istanbul mosque etiquette.
• Shoes: take them off before you enter the prayer hall.

Local tips for the Blue Mosque

• Arrive at opening time, in the soft morning light.
• Visit Hagia Sophia the same morning, since it stands just across the garden.
• Bring a scarf and socks, because the carpet is cold in winter and shoes stay outside.
• Come back at dusk for the courtyard, when the lights come on and the call to prayer echoes between the two buildings.
• Check prayer times on the day, because they change with the seasons.