The Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia ceased being used as a Mosque in the 1920s when Ataturk separated the church from the state.

Not to be outdone by this loss of Istanbul’s most famous landmark, the Moslems built their own mosque directly behind Hagia Sophia. The Blue Mosque is seen here through the gates that lead into Hagia Sophia. This new mosque was built to be “bigger and better” than the landmark architecture in whose shadow she stands.

It was a Friday when we visited the Blue Mosque, so the lanterns and candles were lit in preparation for the noon day service. Here we learned that the mosque and the synagogue have similar features. The men worship in the main part of the church, with women separated in sections that adjoin the main congregation.

In this view of the interior you can see where it gets the name the “Blue Mosque.” In addition to lots of blue glass in the windows, there is a predominance of blue mosaic tiles in the walls and ceilings. You may also note than despite the iconoclastic bent of the Muslim religion, the artists certainly found creative ways of decorating their church structures.

We ran into this street vendor outside the Chora church later that day. He was selling these traditional Turkish hats, and although we declined to buy one of his hats, he was very gracious to pose for our pictures. These are good people. They are kind and respectful. Due to its huge population, Istanbul is in some ways like New York. But there is little similarity between New Yorkers and the Turks who crowd the streets of Istanbul.