The Sultan Ahmed Mosque — the Blue Mosque — is the mosque that defines Istanbul's skyline. Commissioned by Sultan Ahmed I and completed in 1616, it was built as a response and complement to the Byzantine Hagia Sophia that sits just across the square.
**The six minarets.** Sultanahmet was controversial at its opening: six minarets were seen as rivalling the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, which had six at the time. The sultan resolved the crisis by funding a seventh minaret for Makkah.
**The blue interior.** Over 20,000 hand-painted İznik ceramic tiles cover the interior. They are why the mosque is called "blue" — the dominant colour shifts from deep cobalt to turquoise depending on the light. The tiles are a masterpiece of Ottoman craft, and many are now considered national treasures.
**Architecture.** Designed by Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa — a student of the legendary Mimar Sinan — Sultanahmet is the last great Ottoman imperial mosque. The central dome (43 metres high, 23.5 metres across) is supported by four massive "elephant foot" pillars. Light pours in through 260 stained-glass windows.
**Still a working mosque.** Unlike Hagia Sophia, which has oscillated between mosque and museum, Sultanahmet has been a working mosque continuously since 1616. Friday prayer fills it. Tourists are welcome outside prayer times.
**The square.** The mosque sits on the ancient Roman Hippodrome. From its courtyard you can see Hagia Sophia, the Obelisk of Theodosius, and the Serpent Column — three thousand years of Istanbul's history in one view.
For prayer times, mosque details and every imaginable information across Türkiye and the Turkic world, VakitNamaz has you covered.
**The six minarets.** Sultanahmet was controversial at its opening: six minarets were seen as rivalling the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, which had six at the time. The sultan resolved the crisis by funding a seventh minaret for Makkah.
**The blue interior.** Over 20,000 hand-painted İznik ceramic tiles cover the interior. They are why the mosque is called "blue" — the dominant colour shifts from deep cobalt to turquoise depending on the light. The tiles are a masterpiece of Ottoman craft, and many are now considered national treasures.
**Architecture.** Designed by Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa — a student of the legendary Mimar Sinan — Sultanahmet is the last great Ottoman imperial mosque. The central dome (43 metres high, 23.5 metres across) is supported by four massive "elephant foot" pillars. Light pours in through 260 stained-glass windows.
**Still a working mosque.** Unlike Hagia Sophia, which has oscillated between mosque and museum, Sultanahmet has been a working mosque continuously since 1616. Friday prayer fills it. Tourists are welcome outside prayer times.
**The square.** The mosque sits on the ancient Roman Hippodrome. From its courtyard you can see Hagia Sophia, the Obelisk of Theodosius, and the Serpent Column — three thousand years of Istanbul's history in one view.
For prayer times, mosque details and every imaginable information across Türkiye and the Turkic world, VakitNamaz has you covered.