Going Inside the Sultan Ahmed Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque or the Blue Mosque is one of the most well known mosques in Türkiye. It is probably one of the best examples of Ottoman architecture and it is also why it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Being one of the most well known mosques in the country also has its downsides – there are a lot of people visiting. I can tell that there are a lot of foreigners visiting but I can’t tell who the locals are. I expect that there would be a lot of them visiting as well. Visitors can’t just walk in through the front door though. There is a dedicated entrance on the other side of the mosque, just not the front entrance, that one is actually the exit if that makes any sense.

Because of the large number of people coming here, people would have to queue up to get in to the mosque. The side entrance is where people do this. I can see that there is a long line of people waiting to get in. Fortunately, the line seems to move fast. I didn’t seem like there was any inspection to slow everybody down. The only thing that might is the fact that ladies would have to wear headgear. Just before going in the mosque, there is a stall that will hand out hijab to the ladies who don’t already have one. I thought that this is good since not all people coming in the mosque would be Muslim. I am actually glad that they are tolerant here that non-Muslims can come in including women. I have heard a lot of stories but fortunately Türkiye doesn’t seem to have that kind of society. This is a mosque after all and the least you can do is to respect their rules when you visit.

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