Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sultanahmet happy - a 'Blue Mosque view' from the roof terrace being the number-one
selling point of the fleet of hotels in the area.
With the mosque's exterior, architect Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa managed to orchestrate the
visual wham-bam effect that Aya Sofya achieved with its interior. Its curves are voluptu-
ous, it has more minarets than any other İstanbul mosque (in fact, there was concern at the
time of its construction that the sultan was being irreverent in specifying six minarets -
the only equivalent being in Mecca) and the courtyard is the biggest of all the Ottoman
mosques. The interior is conceived on a similarly grand scale: the İznik tiles number in
the tens of thousands, there are 260 windows and the central prayer space is huge.
In order to fully appreciate the mosque's design you should approach it via the middle
of the Hippodrome rather than entering from Sultanahmet Park. When inside the court-
yard, which is the same size as the mosque's interior, you'll be able to appreciate the per-
fect proportions of the building. Walk towards the mosque through the gate in the peri-
pheral wall, noting on the way the small dome atop the gate: this is the motif Sedefhar
Mehmet Ağa uses to lift your eyes to heaven. As you walk through the gate, your eyes fol-
low a flight of stairs up to another gate topped by another dome; through this gate is yet
another dome, that of the ablutions fountain in the centre of the mosque courtyard. As you
ascend the stairs, semidomes come into view: first the one over the mosque's main door,
then the one above it, and another, and another. Finally the main dome crowns the whole,
and your attention is drawn to the sides, where forests of smaller domes reinforce the ef-
fect, completed by the minarets, which lift your eyes heavenward.
The mosque is such a popular tourist sight that admission is controlled so as to preserve
its sacred atmosphere. Only worshippers are admitted through the main door; tourists
must use the north door (follow the signs). Shoes must be taken off and women who
haven't brought their own headscarf or are too scantily dressed will be loaned a headscarf
and/or robe.
Inside, the
stained-glass windows
and
İznik tiles
immediately attract attention.
Though the windows are replacements, they still create the luminous effects of the origin-
als, which came from Venice. Tiles line the walls, particularly in the gallery (which is not
open to the public); those downstairs are especially fine.
Once inside, it's easy to see that the mosque, which was constructed between 1606 and
1616 - over 1000 years after Aya Sofya, is not as architecturally daring as its predecessor.
Four massive pillars hold up the less ambitious dome, a sturdier solution lacking the in-
novation and grace of the 'floating' dome in Justinian's cathedral.
The semidomes and the dome are painted with graceful
arabesques
. Of note in the
main space are the
imperial loge
, covered with marble latticework, which is to the left of
