Why is the blue mosque important
Showcase: Stories behind Istanbul's mosques and minarets
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mosques and minarets might provide the
ultimate master class in architecture
they're not just places of worship they
also provide plenty of insight into a
city's history but there are more than
3000 mosques in Istanbul so where do you
start
showcases Moran Dottie picked seven with
a story
a mosque and its minarets piercing the
skyline is one of the most defining
images of Istanbul but mosques are more
than places to pray and minarets are
more than towers that muezzins crime to
recite the quarter prayer the city's
mosques can take us on a journey through
history my first stop is the
neighborhood of karaköy the arab mosque
fair is one of the city's oldest but
what's really fascinating is what it was
before
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the story of this mosque which boasts
Istanbul --zf s minaret reflects the
changing tide of history during the 6th
century it was a Byzantine church but it
was transformed to become a mosque after
the Arab siege which began in 1717 it
was then turned back into a Catholic
Church by Western Crusaders in the 13th
century before becoming a mosque for the
final time after the Ottoman conquest in
1453 the arab mosque provides expert
instruction in italian gothic
architecture and as for this minaret or
church spire you can see remnants of
both
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fast forward to the sixteenth century
and we have a tale of two mosques one in
Asia and one in Europe every mosque and
minaret reveals something about this
city's history but I think the love
story behind the miramar mosques might
just be my favorite in 1562
a famous architect Mimar Sinan was hired
by ottoman sultan Suleiman the
Magnificent to build a mosque in honor
of his daughter on the Asian side of
Istanbul
the twist in the tale Sinan was madly in
love with marina
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as soon after he built her a second
mosque on the European side
Mihrimah means Sun and Moon in Persian
and the coolest thing about these to
Mars is that so legend has it on the
21st of March which happens to be Maria
Mars birthday you can see the Sun set
between the minarets on the European
side and you can see the moon rise
behind this mosque and so just like her
name we can see the Sun and the moon
together in 1609 a sultan ahmed the
first decided to build Sultanahmet
mosque better known as the blue mosque
after a series of Turkish military
defeats
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with no new mosques being built for 40
years he hoped it would bring good luck
and yes it's beautiful and opulent but
was it considered a little too opulent
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the Sultanahmet mosque is one of the
most recognized and visited landmark in
Istanbul and considering most mosques
have only one minaret or sometimes two
if they were built by Sultan's the fact
that this mark has six minarets it's a
pretty big deal Sultanahmet the first
was considered for sumptuous by some
because this is actually the same number
of minarets as in Islam's holiest Mosque
in Mecca so what did the Sultan do well
we built a seventh minaret in the mecca
Motte
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Istanbul ottoman influence is clear
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but by the 19th century a new kind of
inspiration was creeping in this is
especially evident in the mosque on the
Bosphorus in Auto clay
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the author Kumar was finished in 1853
and we can see the influence of Western
designs there are Roman style scrolls
and golden leaves decorating it's two
minaret
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Center Clare musk was built in 2013
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it's completely different and designed
to its predecessors
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it's about functionality not flashiness
from the outside Sanja clad doesn't even
really look like a mosque most of it's
located underground with its unusually
shaped minaret the only thing visible
from a distance the award-winning design
by architect Emery Errol at was inspired
by the hearer cave which is where the
Prophet Mohammed had his first
revelation
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and what about now
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because Carlotta famous opened in June
this year every aspect of its design is
contemporary
especially this minaret and with
incredible views and its own that
built-in library it's the perfect place
to wile away the hours
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from opulent to edgy from Byzantine to
modern times the design of Istanbul's
mosques and minarets reflect the
changing face of a unique city that
straddles East and West earned the
centuries Miranda a tea TRT world
Istanbul
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