Sultan Ahmed Mosque

I was pleasantly surprised to know how much history the city of Istanbul has to offer. I admit that I don’t really know much about Istanbul or Türkiye when I came here and I hope that by coming here, I would be able to correct it just a little bit. Parts of the city of Istanbul is actually listed under the UNESCO World Heritage site Historic Areas of Istanbul. Fortunately, this is within walking distance to the hotel and I am here to explore the area. While walking around this part of Istanbul, I was surprised to see the number of mosques here. I know that Türkiye is a majority Muslim country but I had no idea that there would be this many mosques here. Just looking at one ordinary mosque was already impressing me.

I was actually on my way to see what is one of Istanbul’s most well known monuments – the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It wasn’t that far from where I was so I just need to brave the heat and go there. It wasn’t long until I found it. Apparently, there are two very large mosques here which are worth visiting. I was initially confused as to which one I was visiting because of the misleading signs. I later confirmed that it was indeed the Sultan Ahmed Mosque that I entered first. As you might expect for a major landmark, there were a lot of people here so there was no doubting that this was indeed the place. The mosque grounds were also huge and you can see people streaming into the mosque from all sides. I somehow managed to enter the relatively small front entrance. This was a bit strange for me considering the grandeur of the mosque itself. There is a square in front of the mosque itself and it is surrounded by a covered walkway. This was a godsend since it was so hot. I took this chance to take photos of the mosque in the relative comfort of the shade.

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