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Across from Hagia Sophia
stands the supremely elegant Imperial Sultan Ahmet Mosque with six
minarets. Built between1609 and 1616 by the architect Mehmet, the
building is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because of its
magnificent interior paneling of blue and white Iznik tiles. During the
summer months an evening light and sound show both entertain and inform
visitors.
The cascading domes and
four slender minarets of the Imperial Süleymaniye Mosque dominate the
skyline on the Golden Horn’s west bank. Considered the most beautiful of
all imperial mosques in Istanbul, it was built between 1550 and1557 by
Sinan, the renowned architect of the Ottoman Empire’s golden age.
Erectedon the crest of a hill, the building is conspicuous for its great
size, emphasized by the four minarets that rise from each corner of the
courtyard. Inside are the mihrab (prayer niche showing the direction to
Mecca) and the minber (pulpit) made of finely carved white marble and
exquisite stained-glass windows coloring the incoming streams of light.
It was in the gardens of this complex that Süleyman and his wife, Hürrem
Sultan (Roxelane), had their mausolea built, and near here also Sinan
built his own tomb. The mosque complex also includes four medreses, or
theological schools, a school of medicine, a caravanserai, a Turkish
bath, and a kitchen and hospice for the poor.
The Imperial Fatih
Mosque, constructed between 1463 and 1470, bears the name of the Ottoman
conqueror of Istanbul, Fatih Sultan Mehmet, and is the site of his
mausoleum. Standing atop another of Istanbul’s .hills,. its vast size
and great complex of religious buildings, -medreses, hospices, baths, a
hospital, a caravanserai and a library- make it well worth a visit.
The great Mosque of Eyüp lies outside the city walls, near the Golden
Horn, at the traditional site where Eyüp, the standard bearer of the
Prophet Mohammed, died in the Islamic assault on Constantinople in
A.D.670. The first mosque buit after the Ottoman conquest of the city,
this greatly venerated shrine attracts many pilgrims.
Built between 1597 and 1663, the Yeni
(New) Mosque looms over the harbor at Eminönü, greeting the incoming
ferryboat sand welcoming tourists to the old city. Today its graceful
domes and arches shelter hundreds of pigeons who make this are a their
home. Marvelous Iznik tiles decorate what was once the sultan’s balcony.
The l6th century Sokollu Mehmet Pasa
Mosque built on an awkwardly shaped plot on asteeply sloping hill near
Sultanahmet,is one of the most beautiful examples of classical Turkish
architecture and another masterpiece of the architect Sinan. inside,
breathtaking blues, greens, purples and reds color the elegant designs
of the Iznik tiles.
Walls of glass fill the four immense
arches that support the central dome at the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque
inside the Edirne gate of the old city walls. One hundred and sixty-one
windows illuminate this mosque, built in 1555 by Sinan for Mihrimah
Sultana, the daughter of Süleyman the Magnificent.
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