Blue Mosque

One of the most important sites in Istanbul is the Blue Mosque. 

It is not only beautiful but it is rich in history.

We started outside of the mosque where there used to be a huge stadium called the Hippodrome.

 

We are standing next to the Egyptian Obelisk and the Serpentine Column outside of the Blue Mosque. Little is left from the gigantic stadium which once stood at the heart of Constantinople. Built in the 3rd century, it held 100,000 people for chariot racing. Four horses controlled by each rider.

The columns outside of this spot are missing the four golden horses which were pillaged during the Fourth Crusades and taken to St. Marks in Venice.  

The Blue Mosque is directly across the street and above the Haghia Sophia and was designed to show the superiority of Islam over Christianity. To build the Mosque, they took the Hippodrome down and re used the materials to build an unbelievable Mosque.

The name comes from the blue tile work on the inside and was finished in 1616. Unfortunately, the building was constructed during a period of decline in the Ottoman empire.

It wasn't cold inside - rather as a sign of respect, women are asked to wear a head scarf. They loved the domes and half domes.

The main piers supporting the dome are massive. The kids really were most impressed with the washing stations outside the mosque where people wash their feet. Given the cold, the boys were shocked at the cleaning process out in the cold.

One issue with the design was that the Mosque had six minarets which was considered a sacrilegious attempt to rival Mecca. We learned later that one minaret allowed the caller to announce the call to prayer. Two indicated the mosque was associated with the sultan or royal family. Four was a bold statement of importance and six was just too much.