Also called the Sultan Ahmet mosque and built across from the Hagia Sofia, the exquisite Blue Mosque in Istanbul is the only mosque other than the Masjid al Haram in Mecca that has six minarets.
Most visitors enter from the North. But if you take the west entrance you will be rewarded by the sight of these spectacular cascading domes! (Alternately enter from the North and go around the side and exit from the West, although the impact is far less than walking into the ablution courtyard from the front.)
And oh yes, the Blue Mosque is not blue at all…it gets its name from its blue Iznik tile clad interior.
Thank you for visiting and have a great day!
The Urge To Wander 
Beautiful!!! Have a great day you too 😉
Thank you Claudia 🙂
It would be wonderful to see this in person, Thanks for sharing 🙂
Oh the magic of Istanbul is impossible to capture in photographs! You MUST go!
I love the Blue Mosque!! Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures, Madhu!!
You are most welcome! Isn’t Istanbul wonderful? I could keep going back!
I would live in Istanbul in a heartbeat if I could get a decent-paying job there. I adore it!!
Me too 🙂
Gorgeous pictures! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank YOU for your visit and comment 🙂
Hi,
A magnificent building.
It is! And the Hagia Sofia next to it is even more so!
I knew you would come up with something cool, Madhu … you always do. 🙂 I love the mosaics and the domed components of this mosque … and of course, the fact that it is blue pretty much makes it a winner for this week’s theme.
Oh, you flatter me as always Marcy 🙂 The blue interior is difficult to capture, but it IS called the Blue Mosque!
Stunning!
Thank you Lynne!
How majestic! Great post, Thanks, Madhu!
Thank YOU Amy 🙂
Beautiful! Wish I could also visit in person. Thanks for sharing. Great choice for challenge.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
You should try to Francine. Turkey is a must do in my opinion!
Beautiful pictures and very suitable for the theme.. brill’;)
Thank you so much Gerry 🙂
How impressive – it must have been stunning in real life. Thank you for posting!
It certainly was! Thank YOU for your visit and comment!
Stunning photos. What a beautiful edifice, Madhu. 😉
It is truly beautiful! Appreciate your dropping by to check this out AD 🙂
What’s prettier than the Blue Mosque? Fabulous photos Madhu.
Thank you Jo.
Stunning photos, Madhu.
Thank you Marion. My little point & shoot didn’t do too badly 🙂
Beautiful shots, Madhu.
Thanks Naomi. Loved your statue with the halo 🙂
Beautiful inside and out, and on the side. Big dome and smaller domes. It looks so interesting. Not only that ….
You centered the picture (1st image) so so well. Impressive!
You are good for my ego Rommel 🙂 Thank you so much!
That is a truly impressive building.
It is Jeff, and almost matches the grandeur of the Ayya Sofia next door.
Wow, that is absolutely stunning. The pattern looks SO intricate. Thanks for sharing, Madhu!
Beautiful isn’t it? Those fine lines you see are the cables that hold the lights!
A great mosque. Hope i can to go there and pray there. Not that I have the money to do it.
Amazing photo nevertheless.
If you want to do it badly enough, you will make it happen. Thank you for dropping by Albadr, Loved your entries
The detail on the inside of the domes is amazing!
It is! My little camera does not really do it justice.
Fabulous pictures and very interesting that the mosque is not blue. Your posts are always fascinating!
Thank you Shaantz. Feels very good to have such encouraging readers 🙂
what an astonishingly beautiful place. Beautiful pictures 🙂 Thanks for posting these 🙂
You are most welcome 🙂
Wonderful photos of the blue-on-the-inside Mosque. Lovely post! xxx Ailsa
Thank you Ailsa, for your comment as well as the follow. Look forward to seeing you around.
Wow! Those are great photographs.
I guess they are OK. Next time, I shall go armed with a better camera 🙂
What a great post Madhu impressive 🙂
I loved the Blue Mosque and Instanbul, even though I didn’t appreciate it that much when I was there… Now I miss it. Lovely pictures 🙂
The story of our lives 🙂 Things ALWAYS seem nicer on hindsight! Thanks for stopping by.
Wow, thanks for sharing this. It’s great to see inside the blue mosque! I just love the intricacy and beauty of Islamic art, tiling, patterns and calligraphy. It’s magnificent.
Then you would love Istanbul!
Blue? Istanbul for sure! I wondered whether you’d do the Blue Mosque! Beautiful photos, Madhu (my old slides are a bit degraded so it’s marvellous to see it in crisp clear colour like that). 🙂
This was the first thing that came to mind 🙂 Can’t you scan and restore those old prints?
A couple of girls have talked about the restoration process – Madhu, you’d need a degree in high computer gobbldigook just to decipher the directions, let alone follow them! Some of the slides aren’t too bad, nut nothing like the clarity of your digital …
What an amazing building! And great photos Madhu 🙂 On the first picture I really think the domes looks blue…
They are a dark grey actually, but I guess they do look blue here. Thanks Anette 🙂
Very surprised photoshot @Madhu
Thank you for the feedback.
A view to remember. It must be a glorious vision to wake up each morning with a scene so grand and majestic. Beautiful!
And the magical sound of the call to prayer! Does not sound the same anywhere else!!
Awesome shots as always Madhu! Love them all! 🙂
Thanks Eliz 🙂
Beautiful pictures Madhu. As always great work.
Thank you for the kind words Arindam.
Breathtaking photos of Sultan Ahmet mosque. How lucky you are to witness such a majestic scene. 🙂
We are ever grateful for the opportunity Omel! Thank you for the visit and comment.
Beautiful photos of the beautiful mosque!
Thank you Fergiemoto 🙂
I proposed to my wife in between the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophia. Not bad for a guy from a small town in the US. Thanks for sharing this, it brings back memories.
How wonderful! Cannot think of a more romantic setting! Thank YOU for the visit and comment. Hope to see you around 🙂
Terrific Madhu, when I went the light was poor and my photos worse!
Thanks again Gilly! As you can see I am catching up with older comments 🙂
So beautiful it reminds me of a mosque I visited when I was very little in Iran.
Glad to have stirred up fond memories 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
Great & beautiful building!
Beautiful. Would love to see that as well someday!