While in Istanbul-The Blue Mosque

photo by Tim Kent

The Blue Mosque is also known as Sultan Ahmet for the sultan who had it built in 1606. It continues as an active mosque, with people coming to pray when called as well as throughout the day. Though a tourist site, it closes to tourists during prayer times.

Photo by Tim Kent

This was the first imperial mosque to be built and caused great consternation as Sultan Ahmed I withdrew the funds from the treasury. His predecessors paid for mosques through the gains of war and battles, but Sultan Ahmed I had won no such victories. 

Nevertheless the mosque commissioned more than 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles, made at Iznik, in more than fifty different tulip designs. The price for each tile was determined by the Sultan (unsurprisingly) and as tile prices increased the quality of the tiles used in the building decreased. Apparently, the colors have faded but I did not notice.

Photo by Tim Kent

Photo by Tim Kent

Photo by Tim Kent

Photo by Tim Kent

 

I can't really avoid mentioning the minarets.There are six of them where usually there are simply four. This was considered slightly scandalous as it competed with a mosque at Mecca. Sultan Ahmet I solved this by having another one built at Mecca. Ah to be a Sultan!