The cistern was built between 527 and 565 AD by the Byzantine Emperor Justinianus. It contained 25,000,000 gallons of water to meet the needs of his palace. It was used off and on for almost a 1000 years until the Ottomans captured Istanbul in 1453 when it was abandoned. The Ottomans preferred “moving water” not “dead water” from the cistern. It was subsequently restored and turned into a museum in the 1980’s. This complex was huge, an amazing bit of architecture almost 1500 years old.
We also visited the “Blue Mosque”. The cascading domes and six slender minarets of the Sultanahmet Mosque (better known as the "Blue Mosque") dominate the skyline of Istanbul. In the 17th century, Sultan Ahmet I wished to build an Islamic place of worship that would be even better than the Hagia Sophia, and the mosque named for him is the result.
The two great architectural achievements now stand next to each other in Istanbul's main square, and it is up to visitors to decide which is more impressive. Since people continue to pray here, upon entering we were given a plastic sack for our shoes. We removed our shoes and carried them in the sacks as we went about.
One of the most notable features of the Blue Mosque is visible from far away: its six minarets. This is very unique, as most mosques have four, two, or just one minaret. According to one account, the Sultan directed his architect to make gold (altin) minarets, which was misunderstood as six (alti) minarets.
Look carefully, toward the bottom of the picture, someone is vacuuming the prayer carpet. We watched him go back and forth for what like seemed forever. A very big Mosque.
After the mosque was completed, the Sultan realized that Mecca’s Mosque (the holiest of all Mosques) also had six minarets. This, of course, would not do, so he paid to have a seventh minaret built in Mecca. History tells us that the Sultan was so anxious to have his Mosque completed that he assisted in its construction. Sadly, he died a year after it was completed at the age of 27!
Surrounding the Mosque are the washing stations where people ritually wash before they go in to prayer, The marble is well worn in their use over the centuries.
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