Blue Mosque Istanbul

Blue Mosque, Istanbul

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (also known as the Blue Mosque) in Istanbul is an historic Ottoman mosque built during the rule of Ahmed I and designed by Sedefkar Mehmed Agha. The mosque was completed in 1616 and incorporates elements from Ottoman mosque and Byzantine church designs.

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque should not be confused with its neighbor the Aya Sofia, the former Byzantine Church, later an Ottoman mosque, now a museum (as oj June 2020). An obvious distinction is that the Blue Mosque has six minarets while the Aya Sofia has four.