The Blue Mosque

 Masjid is a word meaning 'place for prostration' and were used by the early Muslims for houses of worship, even for other religions. Today the Arabic 'masjid', and the English 'mosque' are used exclusively for religious houses in Islam. A mosque is symbolically very important to Muslims, and is a humble way for man to recreate pure divine presence on earth.

 Mosques are not built according to divine patterns, nor are there very clear rules to what a mosque should look like, except on some few points. Mandatory elements are a structure that clearly indicates the direction of  (this direction is called ). The indication is in most mosques a , a niche in the wall. A mosque must have a roofed area in front of the mihrab. There can be no doors in the wall where the mihrab is placed — for the other walls, there can be as many doors as the builders want.

There are 2 types of mosques: the main mosque is called jam’e, and is the one where the Friday prayer is performed. The jam’e is often richly adorned.

The other type of mosque is called masjid, and are local and smaller mosques. While these can be adorned.

I have chosen the Blue Mosque because it is one of the most prominent landmarks of Istanbul, especially when viewed from the First Hill or from the Asian shore of the Sea of Marmara. It is very impressive with its beautiful domes and semi domes, nice courtyards and six slender minarets.

The Blue Mosque was founded by Sultan Ahmet I. He ordered Architect Mehmed Aga to begin construction in 1609 and the whole complex was completed in 1616. The location of the mosque is just opposite a Church of Hagia Sophia as it is trying to compete with it. That is true because Architect Mehmed wanted to construct a bigger dome then Hagia Sophia's but he could not succeed. Instead, he made the mosque splendid by the perfect domes and semi domes as well as the splendid minarets.

The mosque covers a large area, there's a big courtyard where some ablution fountains are located. These ablution fountains are for people who are getting prepared to pray in the mosque. Before praying, one should wash his/her face, arms, neck and feet as well as mouth and nose. This is a basic cleaning. There are beautiful marble steps right in the middle of the courtyard, leading to the main courtyard. The marble courtyard is lovely, its marble comes from the Island of Marmara (the Turkish word for marble,"Mermer" comes from Marmara).

 There is a fountain in the middle which is used as decorative purposes. There is a portal on the left hand side which is entrance for the local people.

Upon the entrance to the mosque, one should pay attention to the gate. The gate is a typical Seljuk- Turkish wooden work with a geometrical design in its center. The star symbolizes the Turkish Generation and very typical of early 11-12th C Turkish Art. After the gate your eyes are drawn to the roof, to the minarets, and to the sky above you. Dome upon dome take your eyes higher and higher, until you reach the main dome with its gold spire. From there, six minarets take your eyes to the heavens above.

This is, by the way, the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets. The minarets of the mosque are classical examples of Turkish architecture. The balconies are reached by spiral stairs. It is from these balconies that five times a day the believers are called to prayer - in our day using loudspeakers.

The south-east minaret of the Mosque. This injured minaret was restored about ten years ago. The men who worked two years to rebuild it proved through their consistent craftsmanship that traditional Turkish art has passed into good hands.

The domes and the minarets are covered by lead, and at the top of the minarets there are standards made of gold-plated copper. Master craftsmen repair these coverings very skillfully when needed.

 

Walking around the mosque takes you to the main entrance where you get a plastic bag for your shoes.

Then one gets to meet the amazing interior of the mosque with its chandeliers and blue tiles. The mosque is all surrounded by beautiful 17C Iznik tiles which give its name to the Blue Mosque. It is all carpeted with prayer rugs because people must put their forehead on the floor and therefore the floor should be soft and clean.

Once inside, as your eyes adjust to the dark, you slowly discover the beauty of the calligraphy, the painted arabesques on the roof of the domes, The mosque has 260 windows the stained-glass windows letting through enough light to give the place exactly the appropriate atmosphere for a house of Allah. Four massive pillars support the structure, and above you, you can see the blue tiles from which the mosque takes its name. Unfortunately, you cannot get closer to them. The floor is all carpeted with prayer rugs because people must put their forehead on the floor and therefore the floor should be soft and clean. The pulpit and nave is worth seeing, made of marble and original. The Imam goes on the pulpit every Friday on the sacred day of the Muslims but he never climbs to the very top as a respect to Prophet Muhammed. Everybody should turn their face to the south when praying, because Mecca is located in South.

The prayer hall's main entrance is from the courtyard and there are two secondary side entrances. The main entrance is highlighted by the raised central portico dome, which bears a marble Quranic panel on its tall drum. Set in a niche with a stalactite semi-dome, the entry has a triptych foundation plaque. The prayer hall is a rectangle, slightly wider than it is long. Inside, it is spacious and open, with a focus around the tall central dome. The dome sits on pendentives carried on four colossal piers or "elephant feet" that delineate the central court. Beyond the court, the space is extended by use of semi-domes and buttresses that transfer the lateral loads to piers set inside the walls. The central dome is surrounded by four semi-domes below its drum, which are wrapped by smaller semi-domes -- three on all sides except for the qibla wall. The semi-domes are braced with buttresses on either side that are articulated with hipped roofs and domed turrets. This structural arrangement provides for a spacious and open interior and creates an effect of cascading domes on the exterior. The composition ends at the four corners where small single domes complete the pyramidal succession.

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Minbar: The mihrab was probably introduced in the 3rd century of Islam. They can be made of wood but are usually made of masonry and adorned with pillars. They often come highly ornamented.

 In the blue mosque, the marble 'minbar', or pulpit, features the mother of pearl relief. The minbar is the stand or platform, in the praying area, from which the imam delivers his khutbah, speech, or sermon, at the Friday prayer, called, Salat-ul-Jumu'ah. In the Blue Mosque, the minbar is made of white Proconnesian marble and is a fine example of the carved stonework of the ...

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