Blue Mosque
Sultan Ahmet Mh., Tavukhane Sokak 5, Fatih, Turkey
Description:
Built on the orders of Sultan Ahmed I, the Blue Mosque in Istanbul is one of the last and greatest examples of the so-called "classical period" of Islamic art in Turkey.
The construction of the mosque was begun in the seventeenth century in the company of government officials by Sultan Ahmed I (then nineteen years old), whose goal was to create a more majestic building than the nearby Hagia Sophia. One legend says that the young sultan built the mosque because he wanted forgiveness from Allah for his misdeeds in his youth. Construction lasted until 1616.
