Blue Mosque – Istanbul

The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) in Istanbul stands directly opposite the Hagia Sophia. It was commissioned by Sultan Ahmed I in 1609 and built until 1616, a year before the Sultan’s death, by Sinan‘s pupil Mehmet Ağa and is a major work of Ottoman architecture. After the secularization of Hagia Sophia, barely 500 metres away, it was Istanbul’s main mosque until July 2020; since 24 July 2020, Hagia Sophia has once again been the city’s main mosque. I particularly like the really wonderful, fine and artistic interior design.