Legend has it that the mosque wasn’t meant to be built with six minarets. According to the story Sultan Ahmet I wanted architect Mehmed Aga to build a minaret made of gold. The Turkish word for gold is “altin”. The architect misunderstood him as “alti”, which means six. While Mehmed Aga was terrified of getting beheaded because of this mistake, the Sultan in fact loved the minarets. Prior to Sultan Ahmet I, no other sultan had had a mosque with 6 minarets. He was the first, which gave him the feeling of power.
While entering the mosque, pay special attention to the gate which is a typical Seljuk-Turkish wooden piece of work with a geometrical design in the middle. The star stands for the Turkish Generation and is very typical of 11th-12th century Turkish art. After the beautiful gate you come across the breathtaking interior of the mosque: chandeliers and beautiful blue tiles. The mosque is covered by 17th century Iznik tiles- hence the name of the mosque: The Blue Mosque. The floors are covered with prayer rugs because during the prayer people have to put their forehead on the floor, which therefore has to be clean and soft.