BLUE MOSQUE (SULTANAHMET CAMII)

The complex occupies the site of the former Byzantine Grand Palace - which remained the imperial residence until the city was sacked by the Latins in 1204 - and part of the Roman hippodrome. Initially, the complex included a mosque, elementary schools, a medersa, a covered market, a hospice, a dervish convent, a canteen and mausoleums. Some of these buildings have since disappeared. With its six minarets, dome and half-domes that have made its silhouette famous, the Blue Mosque was built between 1609 and 1617 by the architect Sedefkar Mehmed Ağa, a disciple of the genius Mimar Sinan, for and in the name of Sultan Ahmed III (hence its name). It is accepted as the last great imperial construction of an empire already in decline. Situated at the center of the complex, the Blue Mosque rivals Saint Sophia, from which it is separated only by a vast esplanade. It features a large central space topped by a dome measuring 33.60 m in diameter and rising to 43 m in height. All walls are covered with Iznik ceramics in shades of blue and green, depicting stylized carnations, tulips and roses. Blue was the origin of the mosque's Western name, despite the presence of other colors. The combination of these ceramics and the light created by 260 windows gives the whole its magnificence. There's also a piece of the Black Stone revered in Mecca, framed by two large candelabras. Avoid going there on Friday mornings, when it's prayer time.