Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Sultan Ahmed Mosque

1617

6039

Blue Mosque

Bugbee, Gordon (photograph)

Single Built Works

Turkey (nation)

Istanbul (inhabited place)

Ottoman (style)

mosques (buildings)

pendentives

columns (architectural elements)

interior views

Interior view with pendentives and columns at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. "Inside, the central dome rests on delicate pendentives (triangular segments of a spherical surface) with its weight supported on four massive fluted columns. In order to extend the prayer space beyond the span of the central dome, a series of half-domes cascade outwards from the center to ultimately join the exterior walls of the mosque. Of the six minarets (towers traditionally built for the call to prayer), four are positioned on the corners of the mosque’s prayer hall while the other two flank the external corners of the courtyard. Each of these "pencil" minarets has a series of balconies adorning its lean form ... The prayer hall itself is punctuated with several architectural features including the sultan’s platform and an arcaded gallery running along the interior walls except on the quibla wall facing Mecca. A carved marble niche set into the center of this wall guides the faithful to the correct direction for prayer. To its right is a tall and thin marble pulpit (mimbar) capped with an ornamental turret,"--by Radha Dalal, KahnAcademy website.

Height: 240 feet, width: 213 feet

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GPB-BYZ2-1785