Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

The Blue Mosque (Turkish: Sultan Ahmet Camii) is Istanbul’s best-known mosque, facing Hagia Sophia across Sultanahmet Square. Sultan Ahmed I had it built between 1609 and 1616 by the architect Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa on the site of the Byzantine Great Palace, and it is famous for its six minarets. A popular story says the sultan asked for golden minarets (altın) and the architect heard six (altı); since only the mosque in Mecca had six at the time, a seventh was then added there.

The name comes from the interior: more than 20,000 handmade İznik tiles in blue, green and white patterns line the walls and the lower part of the domes, lit by some 260 windows. The central dome rises about 43 meters, and the prayer hall holds up to 10,000 worshippers. A major restoration was completed in 2023.

The Blue Mosque is an active mosque, and entry is free. Tourists use a separate visitors’ entrance and cannot go in during the five daily prayers (about 90 minutes each time; on Fridays not before the midday prayer is over). Shoes must be taken off, legs and shoulders covered, and women cover their hair; scarves are lent at the entrance. In the evening the illuminated mosque and Hagia Sophia face each other across the square.

Key points:

• Built: 1609–1616, architect Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa.
• Six minarets; more than 20,000 İznik tiles.
• Entry: free; closed to tourists during prayers.
• Dress code: shoulders and knees covered, headscarf for women (lent at the entrance).
• Nearby: Hagia Sophia, the Hippodrome, the Basilica Cistern.