Inside the Sultan Ahmed Mosque

After a not so long wait to get in the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, I was finally inside. We entered through the side door to make entering and exiting the mosque more orderly. Despite the huge number of people at the queue, I was surprised to see how spacious the inside of the mosque actually is. Make no mistake, there are still a lot of people here but you can still get a feeling of space here. I think it helps that much of the ground floor of the mosque is just columns, so there is a lot of space here. I am no expert in mosque architecture but this one seems be reminiscent of Romanesque architecture. The arches and the domes all remind me of this particular style.

Closer look at and you will see differences. The walls are adorned with Islamic art as well as calligraphy. There are no photos or images here since that is frowned upon by the faith. Instead, you will see huge frames of Arabic calligraphy. I never really knew what they meant but this is a common feature in mosques in Türkiye. Before entering the mosque, you are also required to remove your footwear. The entire area is covered in carpet, so it will not be a bad experience walking around without shoes. There will be places where you can leave your footwear but I choose to bring them with me. I basically tied the shoelaces together and just hung them around my neck. That way I won’t have to worry about where I put the shoes.

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