Blue Mosque !

                                                                                  Istanbul, Turkey
                                                                                June, 2015

Blue Mosque is right across from Haghia Sophia and gets its name from the beautiful blue tilework covering its interior. Built in just 7 years, between 1609 - 1616, the Blue Mosque is considered to be one of the most famous religious buildings in the world. It is a functioning mosque and is closed to non-worshippers 5 times a day.

Blue Mosque on the left and Haghia Sophia on the right, as seen from the Asian side of Istanbul.

Walking from Haghia Sophia towards the Blue Mosque.

The courtyard.

Huge circles of lights hang from the domes. Since it is a functioning mosque, women entering Blue Mosque should cover their head with a Jihab or a scarf.
For tourists, the mosque hands out a piece of cloth to cover their heads. For women visiting Istanbul/Turkey, it is a good idea to take your
own scarf as you will be visiting lot of beautiful mosques.

The huge central dome reaches a height of 141 feet and spans 110 feet in diameter.
It is decorated with more than 20000 blue tiles.

With so many lights inside and external light flooding through the stained glass windows,
it was little challenging to capture the true colors of the Blue Mosque!

Four massive pillars (2 of them visible) support the weight of the domes, arches and cupolas.
260 stained glass windows decorate the outer walls.
Vertical panorama of 3 images.

We visited Istanbul during Ramadan and the plaza between Haghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque was packed with
people waiting to have dinner with their friends and families!!
It was so typical of Asian cultures and I loved that scene and felt I was in India during festival times!!!