Tuesday, February 27, 2007

The Blue Mosque


The mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 by order of the Sultan Ahmed I, after whom it is named. It is located in the oldest part of Istanbul, in what was before 1453 the centre of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire . It is next to the site of the ancient Hippodrome , and a short distance from (Hagia Sophia).
The mosque became known in the west as the Blue Mosque because of the predominantly blue coloring of paintwork of the interior. However this blue paint was not part of the mosque's original decor so it is being removed. Today the interior of the mosque does not strike the visitor as being particularly blue.
It is another "must see" in Istanbul.
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17 comments:

Deb said...

it is an absolutely stunning structure.
I like your b&w treatment here....nothing distracts from the building!
bravo!!

Anna said...

Wow, that brings back some memories. Magnificient! Wonderful tones Oya.

isa said...

Very impressive! Will you show us the inside one day?

Ben Nakagawa said...

It is a great structure.
Thank you for bit of history and back ground. I also would like to see them in colour and interior some day.,

blueboat said...

What a stunning image. I really love your photos of Istanbul in winter - the picture taken from the ferry is wonderful.

Dsole said...

wow, Oya, you just leave me without words! This is soooo great! Love your color in the picture! what an amazing building, it's currently a mosque?
And it's cold now in Istambul? people seems to be with heavy coats there!
Greetings from Madrid! (my holidays are over.. sad!)

Lilly said...

This is such a beautiful picture. Well done. I wish you showed it to us in colour, I would love to see that blue you are talking about.

Fabrizio Zanelli said...

Really lovely in B&W !!!

Dijah said...

that is a nice one!
:)

photowannabe said...

Very nice treatment and composition of this picture. I really like the black and white.

Oya said...

Isabella and Ben, I will try to take some pictures of the inside.
Dsole, yes it is curently a mosque. Istanbul is cold and rainy. Glad to hear that you are back. You've been missed.
Lilly, the blue colors should be inside, but it is removed now. I will try to take pictures inside.

John Roberts said...

I love the softness of the lighting, and it looks great in B&W!

Olivier said...

tres original de nous presenter la "mosquée bleue" en b&w. j'aime beaucoup ce lampadaire qui epouse l'une des tours de la mosquée


very original to present to us the “blue mosque” in b&w. I like much this standard lamp which marries one of the towers of the mosque

GMG said...

Interesting photo. It seems that the sun was shinning which is a view I don't have, since I was caught by a snow storm in Istanbul two years ago, when I visited...
Trotter

Dave said...

Great shot--I especially like it in black and white!!

BuJ said...

Really liking the picture!
Did you take this shot? I ask not because I doubt your brilliance but because it feels like this was taken in another time, in another age...

Beautiful.

Oya said...

Buj, yes the b/w effect gives the feeling that it was taken in some other time...