Overview
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque stands on the historical peninsula of Istanbul, directly opposite Hagia Sophia and beside the Byzantine hippodrome. Sultan Ahmed I commissioned the building between 1609 and 1617 during a pause in Ottoman military expansion — a bold statement of piety when the empire could not match Selim II or Suleiman's conquests with new campaigns. Architect Sedefkar Mehmed Aga, a pupil of Sinan, synthesised his master's vocabulary with a cascade of domes and semi-domes around a central dome about 23 metres in diameter.
The interior owes its popular name to more than 20,000 Iznik tiles in turquoise and cobalt floral patterns on the lower walls and galleries. Stained glass (much restored) once flooded the prayer hall with coloured light. Six minarets caused controversy at completion — only the Mecca sanctuary had six at the time — resolved by adding a seventh minaret in Mecca. The mosque remains an active place of worship; visitors enter outside prayer times through the courtyard gate.
The complex (külliye) originally included a hospital, school, market, and the sultan's tomb. Ahmed I is buried in the türbe on the north side. Together with Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern, Sultanahmet Square forms Istanbul's densest cluster of Byzantine and Ottoman superstars.