!!!Most Famous Mosques in Istanbul

Photography by Stanislav Sedov and Dmitriy Moiseenko,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

1 September 2012

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

Among the many landmarks in Turkey, the three famous mosques of Istanbul
that deserve special attention. The most beautiful one — The Blue Mosque
— is considered the greatest masterpiece not only of Islamic
architecture, but also of the world.

The Blue Mosque was built after a series of Turkish military defeats.
Sultan Ahmed I realized that no new mosque had been built in the city
for about forty years, so he decided to please Allah and remedy the
situation. The construction began in August of 1609 when the sultan was
19 years old.

[{Image src='01_The Blue Mosque at night.jpg' caption='The Blue Mosque at night' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='341'}]

They cleared out a large area for the construction, taking down several
buildings of the Byzantine and the Early Ottoman periods. After that
loads and loads of rock and marble were brought in. The name "Blue" was
given to the mosque because of the huge (over 20 thousand!) number of
white and blue ceramic tiles. An enormous dome 23.5 meters in diameter
and 43 meters high was decorated with verses from the Koran and the
sayings of the prophet Muhammad. The columns were entwined with
decorative lilies, carnations, roses and other ornaments. There are over
50 different designs of tulips alone on the columns of the Blue Mosque
in Istanbul! The floors are covered with carpets, and a soft light flows
into the mosque through 260 windows.

There is a funny story about minarets of the Blue Mosque. The legend
states that Ahmed I ordered to build the usual number of minarets —
four. However, the architect made a mistake and built 6 instead. In year
1616, when the construction was finished, people realized that the new
mosque had the same number of minarets as the greatest shrine of the
Islamic world — Masjid al-Haram, the Grand Mosque in Mecca. It was
considered a desecration, but fortunately it had no effect on the design
of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Instead, one more minaret was added to
the Grand Mosque in Mecca, and it again excelled among other such
buildings.

Opposite to the Blue Mosque is one of the greatest monuments of
Istanbul: Hagia Sophia Museum. The cathedral was originally built by
Byzantine Emperor Constantius I in year 324-337 AC. After two centuries
of fires and revolts, it was rebuilt again by Emperor Justinian I. The
new cathedral was created with such grandeur that it inspired a legend
of celestial powers helping the construction. Another legend, however,
implied that three annual budgets of the Byzantine Empire were spent on
the construction. Well, we see no conflict between the two!

[{Image src='02_Hagia Sophia.jpg' caption='Hagia Sophia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='644'}]

The Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul had a hard life: it survived an
earthquake, a plunder and, finally in year 1453, a conversion by Sultan
Mehmed II. At that time, four minarets were added to Hagia Sophia, and
after a series of other necessary changes, the cathedral was transformed
into Aya Sofia Mosque. Our panorama shows the building in its entire
glory and beauty. And if you ever get a chance to go inside, you will
see the unique ancient frescos and mosaics, restored after the mosque
was turned into a museum in 1935.

And finally, the Suleymaniye Mosque — the biggest mosque in the city.
This famous landmark of Istanbul is located in the old part of the city.
Architect Sinan built it in 1550-1557 on the order of Sultan Suleyman
the Magnificent. Together with its adjacent buildings (educational
institutions, bath houses, cemetery and so forth), the mosque forms a
complex the size of a city block. The main building alone can fit 5
thousand people!

[{Image src='03_Suleymaniye Mosque.jpg' caption='Suleymaniye Mosque' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='720'}]

Although Istanbul, a city with centuries-long history, has preserved
countless monuments and historical landmarks, these three mosques are
particularly beautiful. See it for yourself in our aerial panoramas.

\\ \\
[12 Panoramas of Most Famous Mosques in Istanbul|Geography/Asia/Turkey/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Most_Famous_Mosques_in_Istanbul]










[{SET customtitle='Most Famous Mosques in Istanbul (AP)'}]

[{Metadata Suchbegriff=' ' Kontrolle='Nein'}]