The Blue Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I in the early 1600's, and it has a classic Ottoman design. He charged Mehmet Aga, the imperial architect, with building a mosque that would rival the nearby Aya Sofya (also called Hagia Sophia or the Church of the Divine Wisdom) built by Justinian a thousand years before. Most visitors to Istanbul today believe that Aga met his charge, but the mosque caused quite a sensation in the 17th century among the more pious Muslims. They thought the six minarets were somewhat sacrilegious, because until that time, only the Great Mosque in Mecca had that many. In addition to the six minarets surrounding the mosque, the exterior of the Blue Mosque is highlighted by a series of domes that are designed to bring the visitors' eyes towards the heavens. The whole view is really quite awesome.
The Blue Mosque is located in the European Sultanahmet District of Istanbul just a short ride across the bridge over the Golden Horn from the cruise ship pier. Our guide Ebru had the driver let us out of the van at the Hippodrome, which was a great place to start our understanding of Istanbul.
The Hippodrome was built by the Romans in about 200 AD. It was originally used for chariot racing and other public events, and the stadium surrounding the track held over 100,000 people. The Hippodrome was the center of life in Byzantine Constantinople for over 1,000 years and of Ottoman life in Istanbul for over 400 years. It was also the center of numerous political and civil battles, some brutal. The bloodiest brawl occurred in 532 AD when two rival chariot racing teams ignited a riot that resulted in most of the city being burned. The revolt ended when an army of Justinian's mercenaries massacred about 30,000 people who were trapped in the Hippodrome.
Very little of the Hippodrome survives today, and the area is now a large park adjacent to the Blue Mosque. The floor of the Hippodrome lies buried under 16 feet of soil and the track is now a paved road. Emperor Constantine once lined the Hippodrome with large columns, but only three survive in the park. Some of the rest were taken by the Crusaders, and can be found in European locations outside of Istanbul such as Venice. The oldest remaining column is called the Egyptian Obelisk, which was built in Egypt in 1500 BC, and once stood in Luxor before Constantine brought it to his city. Experts believe the beautifully carved column is only about 1/3 its original height, the rest being broken while it was being shipped to Constantinople. Next to the Egyptian Obelisk is the spiral Serpentine Column, dating back to 479 BC. It was brought to Istanbul from Delphi, and originally consisted of three intertwined serpents supporting a large cauldron. The cauldron and snakes' heads were broken off the column in the 18th century. The third remaining column stands over 100 feet high and is called the Column of Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Not much is known about this unadorned column other than that it was once covered in bronze before being looted by the Crusaders.
Let's leave the Hippodrome and move into the Blue Mosque.
