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— Monument
Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque, officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, is a working seventeenth-century mosque in Istanbul known for the blue İznik tiles lining its interior and for the six minarets at its corners.
Last updated: July 2026
Read time: 2 min
Location
Sultanahmet
Hours
08:30 – 1 hour before sunset
Same, shorter daylight
Last entry: Closes ~90 min around each prayer
Ticket price
Free
Typical visit
45 minutes
Nearest transport
Sultanahmet tram stop
Why visit Blue Mosque?
Built between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmed I, the mosque was deliberately sited facing Hagia Sophia across a shared garden — a statement of Ottoman confidence next to the Byzantine monument it was meant to answer. The interior holds more than twenty thousand handmade İznik tiles in fifty tulip designs, and it is these, not the exterior, that give the building its English name. The six minarets caused a scandal at the time, since only the mosque at Mecca had as many; the story goes that the sultan resolved it by funding a seventh minaret there. Unlike Hagia Sophia it has never stopped being a mosque, and it still fills for Friday prayers.
Interesting Facts
- More than 20,000 hand-painted İznik tiles line the interior, in some fifty tulip designs.
- Its six minarets caused a scandal, since only the mosque at Mecca had as many at the time.
- It has never stopped functioning as a working mosque, unlike Hagia Sophia.
What should I know before visiting?
- Entry is free, but the mosque closes to visitors for roughly ninety minutes around each of the five daily prayers.
- Shoes come off at the door and go into a plastic bag you carry with you.
- Shoulders and knees covered for everyone; headscarf for women, available free at the entrance.
- Enter through the visitors’ door on the south side, not the main courtyard gate used by worshippers.
- Anyone who tells you the mosque is closed and offers to take you to a carpet shop instead is running a well-worn scam.
How much are tickets and what are the hours?
Entry is free — there is no ticket. The mosque opens to visitors between prayer times, generally from around 08:30 until an hour before sunset, with the longest closure on Friday around midday prayers. Donations are accepted but never required, and nobody official will approach you for money inside.
How do I get to Blue Mosque from Istanbul center?
The T1 tram to Sultanahmet leaves you a three-minute walk away, across the park from Hagia Sophia. The two sit at opposite ends of the same garden, so most visitors see both in one morning.
Frequently Asked Questions
For the blue İznik tiles covering the upper interior walls — the exterior is grey stone, so the name surprises first-time visitors.
Yes, outside prayer times, through the designated visitors’ entrance and with modest dress.
Yes — they sit two minutes apart and are architecturally very different, and the Blue Mosque costs nothing to enter.
Book a guided Sultanahmet walk
Prices and availability are handled by the ticket provider — we just point you there.
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