Turkey’s Magnificent Architectural Wonders
By Rafiq Ebrahim
IL
The Blue Mosque
Sultan Ahmet Mosque, popularly known as the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul, Turkey is an architectural splendor. It was designed by Mehmet Agha and completed by Sultan Ahmet in the year 1616.
Situated in the Sultan Ahmet Square in old Istanbul, it seizes you spiritually even from a distance. As you come to the entrance through the adjoining garden, you are immediately taken in by the sheer grandeur of the mosque as its pointed and arched half-domes with imposing minarets come into view. Taking off your shoes, you hold your breath and enter the mosque. You feel the air of architectural spaciousness and see the effect of light as it enters the mosque through round arched windows arraigned in five ascending rows.
As you solemnly take steps you will see white tiles, richly decorated with intermingled branches of tulips, carnations and hyacinths, painted in blue, green, turquoise and black that cover the walls and upper parts of the pillars up to the cornices.
The praying area is huge with thick carpets all around. You don’t feel like leaving the magnificent mosque without offering at least two rakaats of prayers
The Sulemaniye Mosque
Sulemaniye Mosque is the second largest mosque in Turkey, after the Salimiye Mosque in Edirne. It is a fine example of architectural harmony. Credited to the great architect Sinan, its construction began in 1550 and was completed in 1557 during the reign of Sultan Suleyman, the Lawgiver as he is referred to in history.
The magnificent dome with four pendant-like structures rests on four thick supports. Twenty-two round arched windows are pierced in the base. Viewed from any angle, the exterior offers an imposing view even from a distance.
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