The Blue Mosque: Historical & Religious Impacts Antoinette N. Lopez

History of The Blue Mosque Located in Istanbul, Turkey Was constructed between 1609 and 1616, under the rule of Ahmed I. Sultan Ahmed, at only 19 years old, decides to build a large mosque to compensate his people for the unfavorable result in their wars against Persia. Nicknamed the “Blue Mosque” its blue tiles, the French named blue “the color of the Turks”, hence the name “Turquoise.”

History Its building provoked controversy since most mosques where paid for with war victories, Ahmed’s Mosque was built with the city’s treasury. The site the Blue Mosque rests on was occupied by several palaces, so Ahmed requested their purchase and demolition to make way. Ahmed appoints royal architect, Sedefhar Aga. Creating plans for the Mosque consisted of a massive Eight Volume work of logistics and construction options.

History But the completion was not met until his successor, Mustafa I was in reign signing off on the accounts. Sultan Ahmet was so anxious for his creation to be completed that he often assisted in the work. Sadly, he died just a year after the completion of his masterpiece, at the age of 27. He is buried outside the mosque with his wife and three sons. The original mosque complex included a hospital, a primary school, a market, and the tomb of the founder. Most of these buildings were torn down in the 19th century.

The Blue Mosque: Place of Prayer Call to Prayer- “The Adhan”: is the Isalmic call to prayer, and is recited by the “muezzin” at specific times of the day. The “muezzin” is a chosen person of the mosque who leads call to prayer five times daily. The “muezzin” is chosen for his good character, voice, and skills to serve the mosque. The Call of the Muezzin is considered an art form and was traditionally called off the top of a minaret (tall, thin tower of the mosque.)

Blue Mosque: Minarets The Blue Mosque was one of only two mosques to have 6 minarets. The number of minarets was controversial due to the fact that the Mosque in Mecca had 6 minarets. Ahmed I solved the problem by adding one odd minaret making 7. The minarets contained extremely steep, spiral staircases that were ran up and down five times a day by the muezzin for the prayer call. Today, sound systems are utilized to sound the call to prayer.

Blue Mosque: Place of Prayer http://youtu.be/_Is- u0Gh_qs Call to Prayer- http://youtu.be/d5aMcuMU h1c

Visitations to The Blue Mosque Pope Benedict XVI, in November 2006 visited the Blue Mosque, marking the 2nd time in history a Pope visits a Muslim place of worship. During his visitation Pope Benedict removed his shoes, and prayed facing Mecca and stated “May all believers identify themselves with the one God and bear witness to true brotherhood.” Today, the Blue Mosque gathers a extreme amount of visitors every year, travelers in awe of the cascade of domes, which exhibit the great architectural skills. Moreover, the ceiling is lined with thousands of decorative- hand-laid blue tiles.

TravelersTips It is recommended that people visiting the Blue Mosque should approach mosque from the west entrance; this is so that there is more exposure in seeing the structures. However, it is encouraged that non-worshippers enter from the north entrance in order to keep the sacredness of the place. As much as the mosque is a sight to behold, it is also a functioning mosque. Worshippers still use the structure for prayers.