Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque, also known as Sultanahmet Camii is the only mosque in Turkey to have six minarets. Built in the 16th century, it got its English name from the Europeans who named it the “Blue” because more than 20000 blue handmade ceramic tiles were used to create intricate patterns of artwork within the mosque. It was originally call the “Sultanahmet Camii” by the great Sedefkar Mehmet Aga.

There are about 260 stained glass windows inside the mosque and this makes it extremely well lit and portray its vibrant shades of blue. Even though it is always packed with people, you get a certain feel of calmness inside the mosque. If you are an avid art lover, you would spend rather more time inside than an average visitor admiring the flamboyant designs of flowers, especially tulips, cypresses and variety of fruits on its interior walls.

Further inside, there is a huge courtyard about the size of the mosque itself and a small fountain at the centre which is rather small compared to the size of the mosque. There is also a display of the mosque in a small miniature form which gives a birds’s eye view of all sides at the same time.

Click here to visit attraction’s home page