Commissioned by Sultan Ahmed I, the grand vision was brought to life between 1609 and 1616 by Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa, a pupil of the legendary Sinan. His design is a culmination of two centuries of Ottoman mosque development. It incorporates some Byzantine elements of the neighbouring Hagia Sophia with traditional Islamic architecture and is considered to be the last great mosque of the classical period.
The mosque’s popular name derives from the breathtaking interior. At its lower levels and at every pier, the interior is lined with more than 20,000 handmade Iznik ceramic tiles, made at Iznik — the ancient Nicaea — in more than fifty different tulip designs. The higher-level tiles are dominated by blue paint, though much of this was added during later restorations, creating the immersive azure atmosphere.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is one of only a handful of mosques in Turkey with six minarets. Four stand at the corners of the mosque, each with three balconies; the other two, at the end of the forecourt, have two apiece. Legend has it the number was an accident of hearing: the sultan asked for altın minare, a gold minaret, and the architect built altı minare — six.
The central dome rests on four massive “elephant foot” pillars. It stands 43 metres high and is 23.5 metres in diameter, surrounded by four semi-domes, creating a vast, unified interior that seems to float effortlessly.
The upper levels of the interior are adorned with verses from the Qur’an and words of the Prophet Muhammad, originally executed by Seyyid Kasım Gubari, regarded as the greatest calligrapher of his time.
As large as the mosque itself, surrounded by a continuous vaulted arcade (revak). At its centre stands a hexagonal monumental fountain, small in contrast to the court’s vast dimensions.