Sultan Ahmed Masjid Istanbul History, Construction, Architecture and Facts

Sultan Ahmed Masjid Quick Facts

Sultan Ahmed Masjid Overview

Turkey, one of the most famous countries in the world, is famous in the world for its Architecture, Craftsmanship and History. It is the only country in the world whose majority of the population is a believer of Islam, but still it is a secular country.

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) located in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, is one of the largest mosques in the world. The main reason for the beauty of this mosque is its blue color, which makes it famous in the world.

Sultan Ahmed Masjid History

The Sultan wanted to invest the wealth of his Ancestors in good construction work, as he had not achieved any remarkable victory during his reign, so the Muslim legal scholar Turk Ulemas started opposing him, to pacify them. He decided to build this mosque and in the year 1616 AD, the construction of this mosque was completed, which was considered the most beautiful mosque in the world at that time.

Sultan Ahmed Masjid Interesting Facts

1. This Grand and famous mosque were built during the year 1609 to 1616 by the famous Turkish ruler Sultan Ahmed-I by his skilled architect Sedifkar Mehmed Agha.
2. About 20,000 artificial blue tiles have been used to decorate the interior of the mosque, which gives the mosque a blue appearance, along with 60 tulip designs.
3. In this Mosque, about 10,000 people can sit together and offer prayers.
4. This Mosque has about 5 major and 8 common domes, in the diameter of the largest dome is about 23.50 meters and the height is about 43 meters.
5. The central dome of the mosque is the largest, with a total of 28 windows on all four sides. The stained glass for the windows was a gift from the Signoria of Venice to the Sultan.
6. This Famous mosque has 6 minarets, whose height is about 64 meters.
7. The decorations of the mosque are verses from the Qur'an, many of them created by Sayyid Qasim Gubri, considered the greatest calligrapher of his time.
8. The price to be paid for each of the tiles used in the mosque was fixed by the Sultan's decree, while tile prices generally increased over time, but the quality of the tiles used in the mosque gradually declined.
9. This Mosque is always lit up with light, as it has about 260 colored stained glass windows.
10. The Mosque is open 365 days a year, but is closed to non-Muslims for 90 minutes of prayer each day.
11. There are 5 windows in each exedra of this mosque, which serve to illuminate each of its areas.
12. The edge of the Hagia Sophia is adjacent to its outer wall. The venue also offers visitors a free orientational presentation on the Blue Mosque and Islam in general.
13. The Mosque was visited by Pope Benedict XVI, the ruler of Germany, in 2006 and 2014.
14. In 2009, the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, arrived in Istanbul and visited the Blue Mosque with former Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
15. The Mosque incorporates some Byzantine Christian elements from the neighboring Hagia Sophia with traditional Islamic architecture and is regarded as the last great mosque of the classical period.
16. The mosque is designed in such a way that even when it is most crowded, everyone in the mosque can see and hear the imam.