en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque

Blue Mosque in winter

This is the entrance of the blue mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.

Tour guide with visitors outside the Blue Mosque, Istanbul

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultan Ahmet Camii) is a historic mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior..

.

It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is still popularly used as a mosque..

.

After the Peace of Zsitvatorok and the unfavorable result of the war with Persia, Sultan Ahmet the First decided to build a big mosque in Istanbul to calm God.[citation needed] It would be the first imperial mosque for more than forty years. While his predecessors had paid for their mosques with their spoil of war, Ahmet the First had to remove the funds of the Treasury, because he had not gained remarkable victories. It caused the anger of oulémas, the Muslim jurists. The mosque must be built on the site of the palace of the Byzantine emperors, in front of the basilica Ayasofya (at that time, the mosque the most worshipped in Istanbul) and the racecourse, a site of a big symbolic meaning. Big parts of the south shore of the mosque rest on the foundations, the vaults of the old Grand Palace.

Lady taking selfie in Blue Mosque Istanbul

Always wanted to take shot from this angle. Restoration work in progress

Lovely illuminated coloured fountains in front of the Blue Mosque

blue mosque, istanbul

photo by Cory Eldridge.

Blue Mosque from a distance

- Camera phone upload powered by ShoZu

Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque)

Blue Mosque, Istanbul

istanbul

Turkey, Istambul, Blue Mosque

Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)

Blue mosque

Didnt they use this as the backdrop for mecca in the Spike LEe Malcolm X movie. I love that film and the blue mosque rocks.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque)

Istanbul Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque is still used as a place of worship but is also open to tourists.

sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey

I have yet to figure out why all the mosques are lit this way, with a thousand cords hanging down from the otherwise magnificent ceilings to hang racks of bare incandescent light bulbs.

i've been so busy lately - what with work, studying and the six hours or so of daylight we get in iceland this time of year, i haven´t taken any pictures in weeks. i'm trying not to let it get to me, as i will hardly have time for anything else than my textbooks until mid-june, but it is trying.

This building was very difficult to photograph, and I felt rude taking pictures while people were praying. The main area in the mosque is actually roped off and visitors are allowed to look in but not walk around. Most of the people praying were in this area.