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Wednesday 18 May 2011

Turkey: Istanbul's Blue Mosque



Masjid Sultanahmet in winter

The most famous landmark in Istanbul and Turkey, Masjid Sultanahmet was built in the early 17th century, somewhat in reflection of Hagia Sophia which was originally built more than a millenium earlier and located right across from the Masjid.  The Masjid which is more famously known as Blue Mosque due to the use of hand painted Iznik tiles on its ceiling, is the largest mosque in Turkey with a capacity of 10,000 worshippers.



The front gateway to Masjid Sultanahmet's courtyard



Masjid Sultanahmet, the view from its courtyard.



The main prayer hall in Masjid Sultanahmet



The inside of the main dome



The inside of the main dome



The  2-storey (or 3?) mimbar (the pulpit where the imam (leader of prayer) stands to deliver his sermon). The imam must be really fit, I'd guess!






For other www.RambleAndWander.com travel blog entries on Turkey, click here.



14 comments:

Comments and feedback are always appreciated. So do leave one or two if you have the time. Thank you!

  1. Blue mosque and aiyasophia very famuous for istanbul. i am living this place, and visiting many times there. Istanbul also has another historical buildings... thanks for this photos.

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    1. Hi there! You are lucky to be living in beautiful Istanbul. I have been there 3 times already and I love the city. Indeed, like you said, there are many other interesting buildings and places of interests in Istanbul :-) God willing, I'll upload more photos of Istanbul eventually :-)

      Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment here, by the way. Glad to know a local loves these photos. Really appreaciate it :-)

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  2. Love these pictures - I have been to the Blue mosque three times. Never tire of it

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    1. Hi there, Natalie,

      Am glad that you like the photos :-) It is an amazingly beautiful architecture although I do think that the wires used for the big chandelier in the middle of the prayer hall are a bit distracting.
      Nevertheless it still looks beautiful.

      Thanks for dropping by, by the way. Hoping to upload more photos of Istanbul so do come back again soon :-)

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  3. Never been to Istanbul..but i dream to go here someday..
    By the way, are they using Lira or Euro?? #nakkumpulduit :))

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    1. Lira but Euro is accepted as well in my experience. In fact, hotels are usually quoted in Euros - so can be quite expensive.

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  4. beautiful! Istanbul is in my wish list

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    1. Yes, the Blue Mosque is quite unique and beautiful. And so is Istanbul too. The city should be in everybody's travel bucket list :-)

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  5. Masjid yang sangat BESAR! Saya mengenali seorang mamat turkey di sini. Dia kerja di dalam satu bangunan tapi berada di tingkat atas. Dia selalu je suruh saya sertai usrah muslimah yang diadakan di rumah kawan sahabatnya. Pernah pergi sekali je lepas itu segan dah. Ramai sangat muslimah Turki yang cantik-cantik belaka dalam usrah itu. Sayangnya mereka bukannya petah berbahasa Arab pun. Masa itulah saya pertama kali dengan orang bercakap dalam bahasa Turki.

    Pelik dan unik. Dan berbeza sama sekali dengan bahasa Arab!

    Nampaknya awak ada satu post je ek tentang Turki? Kot-kot lah saya terkahwin dengan orang Turki, awak patut buat post banyak2 sikit sebagai panduan. HAHAHA.

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    1. Hahaha! Boleh sahaja, insyaAllah boleh diusahakan. Masjid ni mmg sesuai utk upacara akad nikah. LAWA! ;-)

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  6. one of my dream destination, ingin bisa merasakan khusyuknya shalat jumat di masjid ini, semoga... someday...

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  7. You have great photos of Blue Mosque. Should recommend everyone who like to visit Turkey to go to Blue Mosque. Calm & amazing experience.

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