Just opposite the Blue Mosque, stands Haghia Sophia in all its glory the most spectacular example of early Byzantine architecture. The area between Blue Mosque and the Museum of Turkish & Islamic Art is the Hippodrome where chariot races were once held in the Roman Age.
Sultanahmet was an outstanding district where many mansions could be seen until the 20th century, whereas it has achieved a quality of catering mostly to the tourism industry, whereas quite a few of those manors have been converted mostly into touristic operations. |
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SULTANAHMED COURTYARD
( SULTANAHMET KULLLIYESi )
This courtyard was built by Mimar Sedefkar Mehmed Aga between 1610-1617 over the land where the Great Palace and the Arslanhane Ahmed Pa§a Palace once stood. While the Sheikhulis-lam Mehmed Efendi, the most important clergyman Aziz Mah-mud Hudayi and other officials on hand were performing the excavation works by reciting prayers, the sultan, who was watching this ceremony from ibrahim Pasha Palace also joined them and worked hard until he became exhausted. After the foundation holes had been dug, they researched a lucky day and chose Monday, 04 January, 1610. So, they laid the foundation on that day and sacri-fied a votive ram on the spot.
Essentially a miniature city, Ahmed I chose to build his courtyard on this site for its close proximity to Topkapi Palace and for being a place attended by many people, It is comprised of a mosque, tomb, school of theology, public fountain, hospital, soup kitchen, shops, bath, houses and underground cellars.
BLUE MOSQUE
(SULTANAHMET CAMII )This is the only mosque in Istanbul with six minarets. Foreigners call it the 'Blue Mosque' because of the dominant of more than 20,000 Iznik tiles decorating the spacious interior. The placement of the dome atop four pillars is regarded as the peak achievement of Ottoman architecture.
Masterpieces of the period such as the niche, pulpit, sultan's lodge and muezzin gallery are all worth seeing. In addition to these, rugs and carpets. stained glass windows, colored stones, engravings, doors inlaid with mot-
her-of-pearl, shutters, low reading desks, ostrich eggs hung from the dome and the chandeliers all add splendor to this place. Among the unique decor, the marble mosaic ornamention on the inner parts of the south wall windows and the ceiling ornamentation beneath the sultan's lodge have been preserved. The tiles decorating the walls of the mosque also give us a clear idea about the original magnificence of this monument.
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