Istanbul’s Blue Mosque:Full of history, worshippers, tourists

The first impression a tourist gets on approaching the magnificent Blue Mosque, is the welcoming and serene presence around the historic edifice. The feeling cannot be ignored by any first time visitor. The different groups and nationalities visiting the mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, are all engrossed and paying full attention to […]

The first impression a tourist gets on approaching the magnificent Blue Mosque, is the welcoming and serene presence around the historic edifice. The feeling cannot be ignored by any first time visitor. The different groups and nationalities visiting the mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, are all engrossed and paying full attention to what their tour guides and instructors have to say about the structure. This is an indication that the mosque is bound to leave a lasting impression on the minds of most tourists who have come to see one of the several wonders of Turkey. According to Istanbul’s tourism authorities, the mosque attracts four to five million tourists a year.
The mosque like many other monuments in Turkey and in other parts of the world has a long history. Tourist guides say Sultan Ahmed l decided to build a mosque after the unfavourable war with Persia to appease God; a monument that would not only rival, but surpass the magnanimous Hagia Sophia in all ramifications. The Hagia Sophia was then the most respected mosque in Istanbul in beauty and size. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is called the Blue Mosque, because of the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior lined with more than 20,000 handmade blue ceramic tiles. The edifice contains the tomb of the founder, a madrasah and hospice.
 The Blue Mosque has six minarets, which many argued back then that such architectural works were reserved only for the Prophet’s Mosque in Mecca. According to reports, the misunderstanding was resolved only after Sultan Ahmed paid for a seventh minaret to be built at the Prophet’s Mosque in Mecca.
The long line of tourists from different countries waiting to enter the mosque easily tells one the true significance this magnificent building holds for visitors.
At the entrance, plastic bags are provided by security guards to tourists who are expected to take off their shoes and put them in the bags before entering the mosque. This is common practice for Muslims when entering any mosque. A blue/ ash coloured headscarf is also provided for women whose heads are not covered and also a long cloth made available to women whose clothes might be too short as legs are also forbidden to be exposed in the Blue Mosque.
At the entrance an obviously not a first time visitor asks why and when the tradition of having to cover heads began and the tour guide and security explain that the authorities took a decision that as a mosque, even though it has become a big tourism site, has to have its serenity as a mosque protected and respected.
“To protect and preserve the serenity of the mosque as a worship centre, the authorities felt it was necessary to do the right things while in the mosque as we still have people who pray in the mosque. The religion should be respected. The scarves and clothing is making sure that tourists are dressed in line with Islamic rules,” one tourist guide says.
Weekly Trust learnt that though the mosque has been giving scarves to tourists for over 30 years, the rules are more stringently enforced now as robes are also been provided for tourists whose clothing might be too short and revealing.  The Tourist guide says the reusable garments represent an effort to strike a balance between the rights of worshippers and the interests of tourism at the city’s mosques.
A Nigerian tourist, Mrs. Clara Taiwo, observes that: “it is great privilege that the mosque has been opened to all as a tourist site irrespective of tribe, religion or colour. So if removing our shoes and wearing head scarves and wrapping our bodies are what it entails to get into the Blue Mosque then so be it. We should all have respect for the religion of others. They have been magnanimous enough to allow us entry into the Blue Mosque free of charge”
Inside the mosque are signs at different locations explaining rules to tourists around particular areas. In the area where Muslims pray for instance, is a sign saying it is forbidden for tourists to take pictures of those praying.
Phones, ipads, cameras, camcorders and a whole lot of electronics devices click away as tourists busy themselves taking various shots of the walls, ceiling and the tablets on the walls which have the names of caliphs inscribed on them as well as verses from the Holy Quran. It is also common for tourists to take shots of themselves in strategic places around the mosque, with many of them crowding around the tour guides as they give insights into the historic structure and how it was built.
Decorations of the mosque include verses of the Holy Quran written by the greatest calligraphers during the time of Sultan Ahmed and Seyyid Kasim Gubari. The floors are all covered in red carpet; at a section of the mosque a prototype of the Blue Mosque is on exhibition. The tiles in the lower level of the mosque are in traditional design, while in the gallery the designs are flamboyant with representations of flowers and fruits.
The most important element in the interior of the mosque is the mihrab (a small niche in a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca), which is made of finely carved and sculptured marble. It is surrounded by many windows. The adjacent walls are sheathed in ceramic tiles. To the right of the mihrab is a decorated pulpit, where the Imam stands to deliver his sermons every Friday or on holy days. The mosque has been so designed that even when it is at its most crowded, everyone in it can see and hear the imam.
On the way out of the mosque the scarves and robes are returned and the plastic bags put in a waste bin outside. At the exit door sits a donation box where tourists can put any amount of money that pleases them to help maintain the masterpiece of architecture. One is not compelled to make donations, but voluntary as any donation made is accorded a receipt.
Outside the mosque, the tour guide tells the group of Nigerian tourists, an interfaith group on a religious tour to Turkey, that Pope Benedict XVI had visited the mosque on Nov. 30, 2006. It marked the second papal visit in history to a Muslim place of worship; and ever since Christians while in Turkey always try to visit the Blue Mosque.
Hajiya Maryam Dada Muhammed, co-chair of the interfaith group, says: “it’s great to have the opportunity to visit the great and much talked about Blue Mosque of Istanbul. It is also surprising to see that they have upheld the sanctity of the mosque despite it being a tourist destination to the whole world. Nigeria has a lot to learn from this single act.”
Catholic nun and co-chair of the interfaith group, Sister Agatha Chikelue sums it up this way: “This is really a magnificent place. It is a house of worship as well as an interesting place for visitors. It has also given us a chance to see, understand and respect the religion of Islam. It is great to have a rare opportunity to be allowed easy and free access into a holy and significant place of worship as the Blue Mosque.”