Sultan Ahmet Camii

Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Religion
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Location
Location	Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey
Geographic coordinates	41°00′19″N 28°58′37″E / 41.0053851°N 28.9768247°E / 41.0053851; 28.9768247
Architecture
Architect(s)	Sedefkar Mehmed Agha
Type	Mosque
Style	Islamic, Classical Ottoman
Groundbreaking	1609; 415 years ago (1609)
Completed	1617; 407 years ago (1617)
Specifications
Capacity	10,000
Length	73 m (240 ft)
Width	65 m (213 ft)
Dome height (outer)	43 m (141 ft)
Dome dia. (inner)	23.50 m (77.1 ft)[1]
Minaret(s)	6
Minaret height	64 m (210 ft)
Materials
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Part of	Historic Areas of Istanbul
Criteria	Cultural: i, ii, iii, iv
Reference	356
Inscription	1985 (9th Session)
Website
Official website

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, also known by its official name, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultan Ahmet Camii), is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed between 1609 and 1617 during the rule of Ahmed I and remains a functioning mosque today. It also attracts a large number of tourists and is one of the most iconic and popular monuments of Ottoman architecture.^[2][3]

The mosque has a classical Ottoman layout with a central dome surrounded by four semi-domes over the prayer hall. It is fronted by a large courtyard and flanked by six minarets. On the inside, it is decorated with thousands of Iznik tiles and painted floral motifs in predominantly blue colours, which give the mosque its popular name. The mosque's külliye (religious complex) includes Ahmed's tomb, a madrasa, and several other buildings in various states of preservation.

The mosque was built next to the former Hippodrome and stands across from the Hagia Sophia, another popular tourist site. The Blue Mosque was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1985 under the name of "Historic Areas of Istanbul".