Istanbul = the Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque is located right across a small park from Hagia Sophia. The mosque is also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, after it was built by Sultan Ahmed I between 1609 and 1616, but it takes its popular name from exquisitie blue tiles inside. Walking out the gate from Topkapi Palace, you can see the mosque in the distance:

The mosque is one of two in Turkey with six minarets.


Just near the entrance plaza of the mosque is a mausoleum with the remains of many of the city's sultans and their families.


Entering the mosque we had to take off our shoes as is customary.


Some of the faithful were praying, although it wasn't an hour of prayer.


The Blue Mosque at night gave us the feeling that we were in a magical land, maybe even Walt Disney's "Aladdin".

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The “Pogacha”

Top 15 Favorite Bulgarian Places

The Chinese Market