Sultanahmet Mosque, known as the “Blue Mosque” is a Muslim temple built during the reign of Sultan Ahmet Han, the 14th Ottoman Sultan.

Blue Mosque was built between 1609-1616 by the Ottoman architect Sedefkar Mehmet Aga, a student of the famous Ottoman architect Sinan.

The one and only imperial mosque in Istanbul with 6 minarets owes its fame and name to the hand-made İznik tiles decorating the interior walls.

There are over 22.000 pieces of Iznik tiles in the mosque. During the Ottoman era, the imperial mosques were built as “külliye“, mosque complex, and functioned as a foundation for the district, to serve both religious and cultural needs.

Sultanahmet mosque complex encompassed a medrese (Kur’an school), a market place and Sultan Ahmet’s mausoleum.