The Blue Mosque

A couple of weeks ago some friends from the UK visited us for a weekend. Having them (a father and son from a family we know well) come to see us was a real joy. So much so that J has asked almost every day since they left (and usually multiple times a day) if he can go on an aeroplane to visit his friend.

Another great effect of their coming was that it was a motivation to visit the Blue Mosque - officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Sultan Ahmet Mosque, it's one of the most famous sights in Istanbul and one we hadn't actually visited yet.

The Blue Mosque was constructed in the early 1600s and gets its name from the thousands (estimated at 20,000)  hand painted blue tiles on the inside walls. It is the only mosque with six minarets in Turkey (apparently).

It is also still a 'working' mosque - Muslims have five set daily prayer times and the mosque closes to tourists for the prayer times that are within the normal opening hours, so we had to time our visit carefully.

Another Istanbul landmark ticked off - our time to see them is rapidly diminishing!