Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque)

Home to the richest collection of İznik tiles anywhere, the mosque takes on a spellbinding atmosphere as light filters down from the dome. Stand facing Hagia Sophia and you can frame two World Heritage sites in a single shot.

Ahmed I, then 19, wanted a mosque facing Hagia Sophia that would display Ottoman power. Begun in 1609, it took eight years and was finished in 1617; the sultan died that same year. The six minarets caused controversy at the time, because the only other building with six was the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. A widely told story holds that the architect misheard the sultan's request for "altın minare" (golden minarets) as "altı minare" (six minarets), and that the sultan then paid for a seventh minaret at Mecca to make amends — this account is not confirmed by any document; it is folklore.

Built between 1609 and 1617 for Ahmed I by the architect Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is known worldwide as the "Blue Mosque" for the blue-toned Iznik tiles on its inner walls. One of the high points of classical Ottoman architecture, it commands Sultanahmet Square with its six minarets, vast central dome and cascading half-domes. The complex includes a madrasa, a hospital, a soup kitchen and a tomb.

Images: Meşale archive