The Blue Mosque🇹🇷

Istanbul mornings are just 💙✨

The Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii) stands right across from Hagia Sophia, and being here feels like stepping into a history book that’s still alive. A few facts I loved learning:
1️⃣ Built in the early 17th century during the rule of Sultan Ahmed I, it was meant to rival Hagia Sophia in beauty.
2️⃣ It’s the only mosque in Istanbul with six minarets, which at the time caused controversy because only the Great Mosque in Mecca had six.
3️⃣ Inside, the nickname “Blue Mosque” comes from more than 20,000 handmade Iznik tiles in shades of blue.

My timing wasn’t perfect though…😅 I arrived on a Friday, and the mosque only opens for visitors after 2:30 pm (Friday prayers are sacred here). With some other plans in the evening, I had to skip it 🥲

The next morning at sunrise I returned anyways. The square was already awake with only few people passing by; it was peaceful enough to wander with my camera. Every turn gives a new frame, and honestly… you can get lost here just soaking it in. Later, around midday, I tried again to go inside, but the lines were endless, the entrance signs confusing and the crowd suuuper overwhelming. Sometimes travel teaches you patience, and sometimes it gives you a reason to come back 💙

If you’re planning to visit:
⏰ Come super early for photos
🙏 Fridays -> after 2:30 pm only (!)
💡 Leave time for the unpredictable lines, they’re crazyyyyyy (maybe because the entrance is free)

Nonetheless, even without stepping inside, the Blue Mosque is breathtaking. This is a place that deserves to be felt slowly, not rushed.

Have you visited the Blue Mosque yet? 🕌💙

#bluemosque #sultanahmedmosque #istanbultravels #morninginistanbul