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caravansary and a public fountain together
with the mosque. The hospital and the caravansary were damaged
in 19th century.
Sultan Ahmet Mosque is the last impressive
structure of Ottoman religious architecture. Although many other
mosques were built after' this one, none of them reached to the
dimension and to the elegance of the decorations of Sultan Ahmet
Mosque. The land preferred for the mosque
construction was the old Hippodrome, known as Atmeydani, and was
the center of the city since the Byzantine Period. During the
preparation of the huge area, many earlier Byzantine and Ottoman
structures had to be demolished to open a space for the
construction. Among these structures, the Royal Byzantine Palace,
remains of the auditorium of the Hippodrome, and palaces of many
Ottoman dignitaries can be listed. Its close proximity to the
Topkapi Palace was the reason why this area was chosen for the
mosque. A very careful selection was made for the construction
and decoration material. The 21.043 tile pieces used for the
inner decoration of the mosque were brought from the palace
workshops in Iznik, the silk carpets on the floor of hundreds of
square meters were brought from selected weaving centers, and
hundreds of crystal oil lamps used for illumination were
imported. It is known that the leading administrators of the
state donated many valuable gifts, especially the handwritten
Korans after the completion of the mosque. The dimensions of the
front courtyard, constructed on a podium arising in the middle
of the outer courtyard and the dimensions of the main nave are
almost the same size, and it is 72 m. x 64 m. wide. There are
five doors for entrance opening into the outer courtyard. Among
these doors, there is a chain hanging above the main entrance.
According to the legend, the reason why this chain was hung, was
to have the sultan, who came to the mosque on his horse, to get
off his horse and walk in with respect like anyone else. There
are three portals that provide access to the inner courtyard, as
you climb up the stairs. There are taps used for ablutions below
die north portico of the front courtyard. Furthermore, there is
a fountain for ablutions in the middle of the courtyard with 6
corners and 6 columns. 30 small size domes are constructed on a
total 26 granite columns.
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Sultan Ahmet Mosque is the only
mosque with 6 minarets in Istanbul and in Turkey, and
that make it matchless among other Ottoman Mosques. The
minarets placed at the corners of the mosque and the
courtyard have a total of .16 balconies. Certain
sections of some minarets are embellished with blue
tiles. According to the legend about the minarets of the
mosque, Sultan Ahmet I asked from the architect, Mehmet
Aga, a mosque with a golden minaret. Because of the
turkish pronunciation of gold is dike to number six,
architect Mehemet Aga misunderstood this point, so, the
architect preferred a mosque with 6 minarets instead of
golden ones, as the cost would be very high. |
The dimensions of the nave, which is almost
square planned, are 51 m. x 53 m. The Architect Mehmet Aga has
no significant innovations in the plan and design of the Ottoman
mosques in the Classical Period from the architectural point of
view, but- the inner decoration of the mosque has the
specifications of being eclipsed of the previous Ottoman Mosques.
Essentially, the reason why the mosque is known as the 'Blue
Mosque' all over the world is because of the tiles and
embellishments, which are mostly in blue and green colors on the
walls and the domes. The carpet weaving showed
progress in Moslem world, as the namaz is performed on the floor;
whereas the carpet works did not improve in Christianity,
because the service is followed by the attendants that are
seated. Manufacturing tiles is one of the handicrafts that the
Turks dealt with since the 12th century. Just like in carpet
weaving, in manufacturing tiles, every region has its own design
and color differences. The most frequently used designs in the
mosques are springs, leaves, calyxes, tulips, roses, hyacinths,
carnations, pomegranate flowers and grapes, and geometric
patterns to a certain extend. When you look at
the building from the exterior, the structure forms an elegant
scene that you never expect from its dimensions. The main dome,
the arches supporting it, all round and angular carrier
architectural elements are set up in a complete harmony. All
edges and corners, which would not look nice, are rounded, the
big carrier elements are softened in a complete sense. The light
coming in through the windows placed around the dome, together
with the windows covered with stain glass in 5 rows especially
through the apse wall, intensifies the beauty of the tiles and
decorations. There are total 260 windows in the mosque. The
Venetian glasses, which were used in the 5rst construction of
the mosque, unfortunately could not stay until today. The
diameter of the 43 m. high dome reaches to 23.5 m. The diameter
of the buttresses called elephant feet, which are carrying
this giant dome and the dements surrounding it together with the
pendentives, is about 5 m. Under two of these columns, which are
nearby the entrance, there are taps for ablutions.
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[he old writings embellishing the
walls md columns together with the central me of the
mosque and the conches are rorks of an artist named
Seyid Kasrm ri from Diyarbakir and these are ious verses
of Koran and the substantial ings of Prophet Mohammed.
."ntil a recent time, the precious handmade carpets in
various colors and design, which completely covered the
entire floor of the mosque were unfortunately exchanged
with machine made carpets. The wood benches in the
mosque were placed to leave the shoes on, in case there
is no place at the outer shelves. The galleries at the
three sides of the mosque, except the wall pointing
south-east, are for the use of women and religious
meetings. |
The monumental burial in front of the mosque
was built by Sultan Osman II, son of Sultan Ahmet I, in it there
is the grave of Sultan Ahmet I, besides the graves of Osman II
and Murat IV. Moreover, Kosem Mahpeyker Sultan, wife of Ahmet I
and whom was loved so much by him, is also buried at the same
place. Other than these. there are thirty two more burials
belonging to the royal family members. |
