Sultanahmet Mosque (in Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923). The mosque is known by the name of the Blue Mosque relative to the blue tiles that decorate its walls, as the walls of the mosque cover 21043 ceramic tiles that collect more than fifty designs, and painted decorations occupy each part of the mosque, and its blue color gave the mosque's atmosphere from the inside a strong sense of the control of this color. [1]   Islamic architecture, late classical Ottoman period, construction completed in 1616 AD   Specifications Capacity 10,000 worshipers Length 72 meters Width 64 meters Dome height (outer) 43 meters Minarets height 6 meters The mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I, and like many other mosques the mosque includes a tomb for Sultan Ahmed, a school for religious education, a hospital for the elderly, the handicapped and others. The mosque still performs prayers, and it is one of the most important attractions that attract tourists to Turkey. History of the mosque The ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople - presently Sultanahmet Square - showing the Blue Mosque on the left, a painting depicted by Jean-Baptiste van More, in the first half of the eighteenth century. After the Treaty of Zytvorok and the undesirable outcome of the wars with the Safavid state, Sultan Ahmed I decided to build a huge mosque in Istanbul, where the first Sultan Mosque was built in more than forty years. While the former sultans were working to pay money to build their mosques based on the spoils of war, Sultan Ahmed withdrew money from the state treasury to build the mosque, because he had not achieved any victory over his enemies, which served to arouse the wrath of religious scholars. The construction of the mosque had to take place at the place of the emperors' palace facing the Hagia Sophia (which was at that time the largest mosque in Istanbul) and the Hagodrom of Constantinople, the place that held great symbolic importance as a cultural and mathematical center of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire in the past. Large parts of the southern part of the mosque are built on the foundation and tombs of the Great Palace. Many palaces were already built there, the most famous of which is the palace of Saqoulli Muhammad Pasha, so it necessitated their purchase first at a hefty price, and then removed them. Large portions of siphon (the arched U-shaped platform of the Hippodrome) were removed to make room for the new mosque. The construction of the mosque began in August 1609 when Sultan Ahmed himself came and carried out the first ax attack in building the mosque; With this work, he made clear his intention that this mosque be the first in his country, where he appointed His Royal Highness Eng. The organization of work has been described in detail, detail in 8 volumes, and it is now housed in the library of Tojo Guo. The opening ceremony took place in 1617 (although the inscription on the door of the mosque says 1616). The construction of the mosque was not completed in the last year of the reign of Sultan Ahmed I, and he paid the last costs to complete the construction of his successor, Mustafa I. The Blue Mosque is one of the most impressive monuments in the world. The image of the mosque was placed on the Turkish currency in the category of 500 liras between 1953 and 1967. [2] The design of the mosque is the culmination of two centuries of development of the mosques of the Ottoman Empire and the churches of the Byzantine Empire. In it, the merger of some of the Byzantine elements appears in the design from the Hagia Sophia Church next to it, in addition to the elements of traditional Islamic architecture, where it is considered the last largest mosque to embody the Ottoman architecture. The engineer who designed the mosque applied the ideas of his teacher, Sinan, very carefully, which was aimed at making him huge, luxurious and great, but he lacked this kind of creative thinking for the mosque from the inside. The area of ​​the mosque Planning of the mosque and the buildings attached to it [3] 1. The mosque 2. The Quranic School 3. The shrine 4. Primary school 5. The Royal Wing 6. Hypodrom 7. The garden 8. Bazaar The area of ​​the mosque is equivalent to 64 x 72 meters, the diameter of its dome is 23.50 meters, and its height is 43 meters, and it is based on four cylindrical pillars, each of which is five meters in diameter. The exterior of the mosque The courtyard of the mosque is from the inside, and the fifth and sixth minarets appear in the domes corner The Baptist Gallery The spacious front facade of the mosque's courtyard is built in the same style as the Sulaymaniyah Mosque façade, except for the addition of two minarets at the corner of the domes. The courtyard of the mosque is about the size of the mosque itself from the inside, and it is surrounded by a continuous baptized portico, topped by a group of small domes, and on its sides there is a place for ablution. As for the hexagonal fountain in the middle it is rather small compared to the size of the yard. The narrow gate that connects you to the courtyard of the mosque stands out from the outside in an artistic architectural form, as it contains muqarnas decorating its entrance and at the top a small dome. A heavy iron chain suspended in the upper part of the courtyard entrance in the western part. Only the Sultan was able to enter this region riding his horse. The chain of iron was placed there, and the sultan used to nod his head every time he entered the mosque square, in order not to clash with the chain. This symbolic gesture from the Sultan to confirm the ruler's dwindling compared to the greatness of God. From the inside The place of prayer in the mosque is topped with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling The blue tablets have verses from the Qur'an that decorate the mosque The walls of the mosque 21043 are covered with ceramic tiles, hand-made in Iznik (old Nicea) with over fifty different designs of lily flowers. The tiles in the lower parts of the mosque have traditional designs, while in the upper parts of the mosque we find their designs decorated with patterns of flowers, fruits and cypress trees. The tiles were made under the supervision of the potters' chiefs in Iznik, Butcher Haji and Paris Effendi from Avanos (Qaddogia). The price that was paid for each tile was set by decree of the Sultan, and in general over time the price of these tiles increased. To maintain the stability of the price determined, the quality of the tiles used in construction gradually decreased. The colors of the tiles faded and changed over time (red turned brown and green turned blue with white spots). The tiles on the back porch of the mosque are tiles remanufactured from the tiles of the Harem Department of the Topgu Palace, which were damaged by fire in 1574. The upper parts of the entrance are dominated by blue color, but of poor quality. More than 200 colored bottles with sophisticated designs that allow natural light to enter from them, and today the lamps in the chandelier hanging from the ceiling are used to help in lighting. In the chandelier there were ostrich eggs that were used to prevent and repel spiders and insects, which were also used by Sinan in the Sulaymaniyah Mosque [4]. The motifs in the mosque include verses from the Qur'an, many of which were written by Syed Qasim Ghobari as the largest and greatest of calligrapher at the time. The lands are furnished with carpets that are donated by the believers, and they are regularly replaced because they are eroded. Many large, wide windows give the impression of roominess. The door windows on the ground floor are decorated with art pieces using the art of glazing. As for the windows, each Eastern has 5 windows, some of which are sometimes solid. Also, each half of the 3 dome - which surrounds the main dome - has 14 windows, while the main dome has 28 windows, 4 of them are solid. Stained glass windows are a gift from the emirate of Venice to the Sultan. The majority of these colored windows have now been replaced by modern windows with little or no little technical overview. The most important element inside the mosque is the gilded mihrab, made of finely carved marble, where above is decorated with muqarnas and two paintings bearing verses from the Holy Qur’an. The walls around the niche are covered with ceramic tiles, but many of the windows surrounding them make them look less impressive. To the right of the mihrab, we find the elegantly decorated golden minbar with a conical shape. The mosque is designed in such a way that all worshipers, even during times when the mosque is full and full, can see and hear the imam. Interior view of the mosque The Royal Pavilion is located in the southeast corner of the mosque, and it includes a minbar and loggia and two small rooms for the residents of the mosque. From the Royal Pavilion, you can reach the Royal Pavilion in the upper part of the mosque. Two rooms became the main residence of the Grand Mosque while working to quell the Janissary Rebellion in 1826 during the reign of Sultan Mahmoud II. We find the Royal Pavilion standing on ten marble columns, which contains its own niche, decorated with pink and gold jade stones [5] in addition to 100 copies of the Qur’an placed on the carriers of the inlaid and gilded Qur’an [6]. Many lamps inside the mosque are covered with gold and precious stones [7] and between the glass bowls you can find ostrich eggs and crystal balls [8]. All of these decorations have been removed or taken away to be placed in museums. The large disks on the walls are inscribed with the names of the rightly guided caliphs and some verses from the Holy Qur’an by the greatest seventeenth-century calligrapher Ahmed Qassem Ghobari and they have been restored many times. Lighthouses Six Blue Mosque lighthouses Many tour guides often tell tourists a story about the mosque’s lighthouses, although not correct: The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is one of two mosques located in Turkey with 6 minarets. The other mosque is the central Sabancı Mosque in Adana. When the number of minarets for the planned mosque was announced, criticism arose for their equality with the number of minarets of the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Sultan Ahmed ordered the addition of the seventh minaret to the Grand Mosque in order to glorify him, in addition to his mosque with a minaret. But the truth is that the Sacred Mosque actually had 7 minarets a century before the Blue Mosque was built. There are four minarets standing in the corners of the mosque. Each of these pencil-shaped minarets contains three trims decorated with a fringe from below. The remaining two minarets, which are located at the end of the large square, are decorated only. In the past, the muezzin had to climb the spiral staircase 5 times a day to call for prayer, but today the headphones are used, where individuals can hear the ears in the old part of the city, and it is also possible to hear the call to prayer from mosques nearby. Turks and tourists enjoy hearing the evening prayer in the garden facing the mosque at sunset and the beauty of the lights that illuminate the mosque at night. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the mosque On a visit by Pope Benedict XVI that lasted four days to Turkey, he visited the mosque on November 30, 2006. With this visit, Benedict XVI will be the second pope in history to visit a mosque after the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus during a visit to Syria 2001 [9]. During his visit to the mosque, the Pope went to the direction of the Muslims - the Kaaba - and performed a silent prayer, as he took off his shoes, closed his eyes for two minutes, and stood next to Mustafa Jagerji, the Mufti of Istanbul, and God commanded the imam and preacher of the mosque. [10] The Pope thanked the providence for this and said: Perhaps all believers can identify themselves with their faith in one God and testify of true brotherhood. The Pope predicted that Turkey would be a bridge to friendship and cooperation between East and West, and he thanked the Turkish people for the affection and sympathy they showed him during his stay in Turkey. [11] Obama's visit to the mosque Obama vacates his shoes in preparation for entering the mosque US President Barack Obama visited Turkey on April 6, 2009, coming from the Czech capital Prague during his participation in a summit that brought him together with leaders of 27 countries in the European Union, in which he urged the leaders of the European Union countries to accept the accession of Turkey as a full member of the Union [12]. On the last second day of his official visit to Turkey, Obama had met a group of Muslim religious scholars and Christian and Jewish clergy. He also toured a number of Istanbul's tourist and religious attractions, including the mosque and the Hagia Sophia Museum [13].