Istanbul Guide

73

SULTAN AHMET I

perfect proportions of the building. Walk towards the mosque through the gate in the peripheral wall, noting on the way the small dome atop the next gate: this is the motif Sedefkâr Mehmet A ğ a uses to lift your eyes to heaven. As you cross the outer courtyard, your eyes follow a flight of stairs up to yet more domes: that of the ablutions fountain in the centre of the mosque courtyard and, as you as cend the stairs, a semidome over the mosque’s main door, then one above it, and another and another. Finally the main dome crowns the whole, and your attention is drawn to the sides, where forests of smaller domes reinforce the effect, completed by the minarets, which lift your eyes heavenward. Interior The mosque is such a popular tourist sight that admission is controlled in order to preserve its sa cred atmosphere. Only worshippers are admitted through the main door; visitors must use the south door (follow the signs). You must remove your shoes, and women who haven’t brought their own head scarf or are considered to be too scantily dressed will be loaned a headscarf and/or robe. The interior is conceived on a grand scale: it fea tures more than 21,000 İ znik tiles, 260 windows and a huge central prayer space. The stained-glass windows and İ znik tiles immediately attract atten tion. Though the windows are replacements, they still create the luminous effect of the originals, which came from Venice. Tiles line the walls with an explosion of flower motifs, particularly in the upstairs galleries (which are not open to the public). Once inside, it’s easy to see that the mosque, which was constructed between 1606 and 1616, more than 1000 years after nearby Aya Sofya, is not as architecturally daring as its predecessor. Four massive pillars hold up the less ambitious dome, a sturdier solution lacking the innovation and grace of the ‘floating’ dome in Justinian’s cathedral. The semidomes and the dome are painted with graceful arabesques . Of note in the main space are the müezzin mahfili ( müezzin’s lodge), a raised platform where the müezzin repeats the call to prayer at the start of each service; the mihrab (niche in a minaret indicating the direction of Mec ca), which features a piece of the sacred Black Stone from the Kaaba in Mecca; and the high, elaborate kursi (chair) from which the imam gives the ser mon on Fridays. The beautifully carved white mar ble mimber (pulpit), with its curtained doorway at floor level, features a flight of steps and a small ki osk topped by a spire.

Designed by Sedefkâr Mehmet A ğ a and built in 1616–19, Ahmet I’s türbe (tomb) is on the north side of the mosque facing Sultan ahmet Park. Ahmet, who had ascended the imperial throne aged 13, died at just 27, one year after construc tion of the mosque was completed. Buried with him are his wife, Kösem (strangled to death in the Topkap ı Harem), and his sons, Sultan Osman II (r 1618–22), Sultan Murat IV (r 1623–40) and Prince Beyaz ı t (murdered by order of Murat). Like the mosque, the türbe features fine İ znik tiles. Mosques built by the great and power ful usually included numerous public service institutions, including hospitals, soup kitchens and schools. Here, a large medrese (Islamic school of higher studies) on the northwestern side of the complex (closed to the public) and arasta (row of shops by a mosque; now the Arasta Bazaar, p88) remain.

SULTANAHMET & AROUND BLUE MOSQUE