The Blue Mosque in Istanbul

Click to enlarge the Blue Mosque




Keelin and Claire put their head scarves on for a visit to The Blue Mosque - click to enlarge

The Blue Mosque was built by a Sultan--Ahmet I. His architect began construction in 1609 it was finished by 1616! That's amazing to us because we have seen so many Basilicas and churches in England, Spain, Italy and elsewhere that took literally hundreds of years to build. Or Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia that is still unfinished.



Compared to Aya Sofya, The Blue Mosque is light and spacious and airy. Architecture had come a long way in those years and they learned to support a dome much more efficiently. There are hundreds of gorgeous stained glass windows, in the Blue Mosque, but very few in Aya Sofya.

It sounds like the Sultan and architect wanted to directly "compete" with the Aya Sofya (they are across the street from each other). They wanted to construct a bigger dome, but that was logistically not possible. However, if you read about Aya Sofya, the dome has collapsed numerous times and had to be rebuilt many times over the centuries.




click to enlarge the courtyard


Instead of competing with the mosque across the street, they created an elegant and beautifully proportioned mosque...with six amazing soaring minarets. Prior to that time, no sultan had a mosque with 6 minarets. According to a sign I read, six minarets put it in direct competition with the Mosque at Mecca, and the architect worried he would be punished.

In the courtyard, are many ablution fountains, where you wash your face, arms, neck, feet, mouth and nose before you pray. [Ed's note, there are ablution fountains all around the streets of Istanbul, just for general cleaning I guess]. The marble courtyard is serene and beautiful.

There is a door on the left hand side which is entrance for local people. The rest of us visitors and infidels go around to the other side to enter. You are inspected as you go in, and remove your shoes and put them in a plastic bag. Women are checked for head scarves, and men and women must wrap a scarf around their legs if their knees or shoulders show. Inside, you walk on a plush soft carpet and gaze at the worshippers, praying toward Mecca. The interior is completely covered in gorgeous blue tile, with abstract symbols and calligraphy. Mosques do not allow the depiction of living beings like Catholic churches do. A leader centuries ago decided living creatures distracted you from worship and prayer.

This was an amazing juxtaposition to the Aya Sofya, with its tumultuous and turbulent history, domes falling down, and its transition from Basilica to Mosque to museum. It was a soulful house of worship, and it radiated peace and devotion and surrender to a Higher Being. I was moved.
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