Blue Mosque

About Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque) was built between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmed I, and it still works as an active mosque today. The nickname comes from the interior, which is lined with more than 20,000 Iznik tiles in blues and greens that give the whole prayer hall its color. Outside, the thing that sets it apart on the skyline is its six minarets, unusual for the time it was built. Inside, a cascade of domes and half-domes rises overhead, and light comes through over 200 stained glass windows into the main space. A restoration wrapped up in 2023, so the building you see now has been cleaned up and shored up after several years of work.

Because this is a functioning place of worship, entry is free, and there's no ticket for the mosque itself. That also means the mosque closes to visitors during the five daily prayer times and for longer on Fridays, so it's best planned around those windows. Modest dress applies for everyone: shoulders and knees covered, and women cover their hair. Head scarves and cover-ups are usually available to borrow at the entrance if you turn up without one, and you'll take your shoes off before stepping onto the carpet. Keep the noise down inside, since people are there to pray.

The mosque sits in the Sultanahmet district on the historic peninsula, right across a public square from Hagia Sophia, with the Basilica Cistern and Topkapi Palace both a short walk away. That makes it easy to fold into a single day around the old city, and plenty of guided visits pair it with those neighbors. A guided walk through the prayer hall usually runs around an hour and is a good way to get the history and the tilework explained as you go, rather than just looking around on your own.