On our way to our cruise in Ukraine, we spent a couple of nights in Istanbul, Turkey. We stayed in the Conrad Hotel in Besiktas, close to downtown Istanbul.

The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) was built between 1609-1617 by Sedefkar Mehmet Aga upon the order of Sultan Ahmed I, who ascended to throne at the age of 14 as the 14th Sultan of Ottomans. The mosque was built next to the former Hippodrome and stands across from the Hagia Sophia. The Blue Mosque was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1985 under the name of “Historic Areas of Istanbul”.

Regarding the photos of the interiors of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia… These photos were taken in 2013 with a 2013 technology camera and both locations were very dark. This results in high noise, but I also had a color problem, which I see is a common problem by looking at other people’s photos of these locations. So excuse the blur and other issues and do not take my colors as accurate even though I tried to follow what the concensus colors of these locations was.

The first photo below is a newspaper article photo announcing the reopening of the Blue Mosque. This image shows its layout and location. The top is the Bosporus and our hotel was on the other side of the Bosporus. The photo on the right is one I took from our bus. (Click on any image to see it larger)

And now to the interior…

Above is looking up at the dome. At left below is a view toward the entrance and at right some photos of the windows.

Now we will move on to Hagia Sophia. This complex has had a very complicated history. It was first a Christian church under Emperor Justinian, replacing an older church that burned. It was completed in 537. Over the years it has also been a mosque, then a museum, and since July 2020, again a mosque. So when these photos were taken it was a museum. Hagia Sophia is well described here: My World Byzantium

Below are two mosaics: The nativity scene in the apse on left and at right Mary Jesus and Kings

References:
The Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque in Smarthistory
The Blue Mosque in Wikipedia
My World Byzantium
Everything You Need To Know About This 1,500-Year-Old Cathedral-Turned-Mosque-Turned-Museum-Turned-Mosque

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