Having lent its name to the district where in it is located
today, the Sultanahmet mosque was built by Sultan Ahmet I
Construction started with a great ceremony in 1609 and it was
completed af ter 8 years, in 1617.
Being one of the biggest buildings of the city, the Sultanahmet
Mosque complex is comprised of many buildings, including
madrasas, hammams, bazaars, fountains, tombs, hospitals and
primary sehools, some of which could not surviye to the present.
Known in the West as the "Blue Mosque" due to approximately
20,000 blue ceramic tiles in the interior, it is the only mosque
in the world with six minarets.
The architect of Sultanahmet Mosque, Sedefkar Mehmet Aga, was a
student of Architect Sinan, who has been accepted as the peak
personality of Turkish architecture. Sedefkar Mehmet Aga was
originally a goldsmith, and he obviously benefited from his main
profession when constructing the Sultanahmet Mosque.
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 The
main entrance of the mosque is located on the Hippodrome side. The
main area surrounded by an outer courtyard is situated on a high
platform. When one looks at the mosque from the outside, s/he sees
the glamorous domes which appear to arise one from the other. There
are three gates opening to the mosque. Upon entering through these
gates, one beeomes hypnotized by the beauty of its fine handmade
porcelain tiles and stained glass. Indeed the rich porcelain tile
collection rather than its arehitectural design is the main source
of the fame of Sultanahmet Mosque. More than 20.000 Iznik porcelain
tiles adorn the walls of the baleonies encircling the lowerlevels of
the interior in three directions.
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The upper levels and domes' inner sides are painted. Originally the
painted decorations were not done in blue. Blue was used in
subsequent restoration works. Next to the mihrap, which is the niche
of the mosque indicating the direction of Mecca, located just across
from the main entrance, there is the finely-carved marble minber, or
pulpit. The raised platform area at the other side was used as the
Sultans' lodge. The only one-domed tomb and madrasa building of the
Sultanahmet Mosque is located on the Hagia Sophia side of the mosque.
Today, various music and light shows are arranged in Sultanahmet
Park on summer nights. The minarets of the Sultanahmet Mosque are
other examples of the classic Turkish architectural style. For four
centuries, ezan, the lslamic calls to prayer have been announced in
these minarets with their spiral stairs. The tops of the domes and
minarets are covered with lead. The crescents and the stars on them
are made of gold-plated copper. The mihrap and minber sections were
built using white marble brought from Marmara Island known for
centuries for its high quality marble. Pearly embossments over the
gates and windows and carvings on the wooden and metallic surfaces
have been protected in their original condition, and all are worth
seeing
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Anatolian Kavak and Lighthouse