Mosques in Istanbul

Three of the most important mosques in Istanbul are the Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye Mosque and Eyup Mosque.

Important churches are Hagia Sofiya and Kariye Church.

During the Byzantine Era there was a hippodrome near the Blue Mosque with a capacity of 10,000 people. In 1606, Sultan Ahmet wanted to build a mosque bigger, more majestic and more beautiful than the Saint Sophia Church, and he did indeed build a mosque; you will be the one to judge which one is more impressive.

The Blue mosque is called "Sultan Ahmet Camii" in Turkish, which means the Mosque of Sultan Ahmet. The mosque was built in the classic Ottoman style and is located just in front of Saint Sophias' Church the Sultan Ahmet district of Istanbul. Mosques were generally built to be used as a public service for the citizens.

There are some buildings near the Blue mosque which include a theology school, a Turkish bath, a kitchen that used to serve soup for the poor, and shops. The shops would provide revenue for maintaining the mosque.

The Blue mosque, as the name implies, was decorated with blue tiles and also glass-work with the same color. There are no images or statues inside the mosque since Islam forbids praying to images of any kind.

Before entering the mosque you should take your shoes off. You should not wear miniskirts, shorts, or very low neckline dress. The staff at the mosque will give you a wrap-round shawl cover yourself if they find your clothing is not appropriate for the mosque.

The Suleymaniye Mosque is the largest mosque in Istanbul and was built between 1550-1557 AD by Sultan Suleyman I - "Sulyman the Magnificent". Suleyman was the richest and most powerful Sultan of the Ottoman empire.

This Sultan is remembered by the Turks as the one who introduced laws and not by his magnificent title.

He undertook much construction, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (which was part of the Ottoman Empire 1516), and a lot of monuments throughout his empire.

Inside the mosque you will be impressed by its size and also simplicity: tiles from Iznik and colored glass-work brings harmony to a place of prayer and silence.

Four massive solid columns support the mosque: one from Baalbek, another from Alexandria and two from old Byzantine Palaces.

The paintings inside the mosque are dated from the 19th century and were recently renovated

Eyup mosque was the first mosque built after the Turks took Constantinople. One of the first Muslims, Ebu Eyup El-Sari was killed in the Arab army's in the year 668 AC. Sultan Fatih Mehmet's religious teacher found to what he said to be Eyup's tomb.

Sultan Fatih built a large tomb, a mosque and a soup kitchen in that location. The interior is magnificent with gold leafed decorations, elegant chandeliers hanging from the dome, and carpets covering the floor.

The tomb of Eyup Sultan was built in 1485 and its wall is covered with tiles of several periods. For hundred years those seeking miracles have made pilgrimages to the tomb. The grill inside the tomb in front of the sarcophaguse made of pure silver and was a gift of Sultan Selim III.

Eyup district is the most religious one in Istanbul. In spring and summer time you will find little boys dressed up for circumcision parties praying in the mosque. You will also be able to see a lot of women, totally covered with black cloths doing their daily pray.

If you are there on Friday- which is the most important day of the week for the moslems, you will be able to see a crowd of people praying in and outside the mosque.

The Church of Saint Sophia. Saint Sophia Church is located just in front of the Blue Mosque in the Sultan Ahmet District of Istanbul.

The church was built around 360 by the Emperor Constantino and burned down twice. It was rebuild at 530 AD by the Emperor Justinian.

The layout and decoration is typical of a church of the Byzantine period. After the Turks took over Constantinople in 1453 AD., Saint Sophia was turned into a mosque and four minarets (the tall, thin towers), were added to it. Saint Sophia was restored several times because of damage caused by a series of earthquakes.

Today Saint Sophia is neither a church nor a mosque but a museum. When you are inside, you can sense the influence of both the Catholic and Islamic religions and cultures in its decorations and frescos.

Some religious Islamic people want to have Saint Sophia reopened as a mosque again but there is much resistence to the idea.

The Holy Church was built in 413 AD and is located just inside the Theodosian walls of the old Constantinople, not very far from the Saint Sophia Church.

Inside you can see beautiful mosaics representing events in the lives of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The frescos relate to death and resurrection.

The church was renovated and rebuilt at the end of the 11th century, new mosaics were added in 1320.

And finally between 1948 and 1959 the frescos were carefully renovated by the American Byzantine Society.

The church was turned into a mosque after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks and was at that time called Kariye.

Today the church is a museum, no religious services take place.