Editorial photo #4522934 Human Interest

Daily Life In Istanbul

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultan Ahmet Camii) is a historic mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A popular tourist site, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque continues to function as a mosque today. The Blue Mosque, as it is popularly known, was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed's tomb, a madrasah and a hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six minarets and eight secondary domes.It sits next to the Hagia Sophia, another popular tourist site. photo by saeed qaq (Photo by Saeed Qaq/NurPhoto)