The Blue Mosque

Before you rises the mosque of Sultan Ahmed, known the world over as the Blue Mosque. Notice how the domes step up one above another to the great central dome: it's the grand theatrical effect of classical Ottoman architecture.

1A young sultan's ambition

Ahmed I came to the throne aged just thirteen. The wars against Austria and Persia had brought no great victories, and he wanted to leave his mark with a mosque to rival Hagia Sophia, right across the way. Work began in 1609 under the architect Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa, a product of Sinan's school, and was completed around 1617. The sultan died that same year, aged twenty-seven, and is buried in the mausoleum beside the square.

2Six minarets

An imperial mosque normally had four. Six was an exceptional number.

A popular story claims the sultan asked for golden minarets, "altın", and the architect heard "altı", six; it's an apocryphal anecdote, but it has been repeated for centuries.

3Why blue?

The name comes from the interior: more than twenty thousand İznik tiles decorated with tulips, carnations and cypresses, along with painted decoration in shades of blue. Some two hundred and sixty windows flood the hall with light. It's still a working mosque, so visits are outside prayer times and in suitable clothing.

4What to look for

• The iron chain at the Hippodrome gate: it forced the sultan, who rode in on horseback, to bow his head.
• The cascading domes, seen from the middle of the courtyard.
• The minaret balconies, from which the call to prayer was made.