Blue Mosque Tickets, Free Entry & Guided Tour
Properly the Sultanahmet Mosque, and the most recognisable in Turkey. The nickname comes from the interior: more than 20,000 hand-painted İznik tiles, heavy on blue, covering the upper walls and galleries.
- At the gate
- £8.50
- Allow
- 1h 30m
- District
- Sultanahmet
- Closed
- Open daily
The Blue Mosque, in short
Properly the Sultanahmet Mosque, and the most recognisable in Turkey. The nickname comes from the interior: more than 20,000 hand-painted u0130znik tiles, heavy on blue, covering the upper walls and galleries.
It faces Hagia Sophia directly across a public garden, which is no accident u2014 Sultan Ahmed I wanted a mosque to stand against the greatest building in the city.
Opening hours
It is a working mosque, open from dawn prayer until night prayer. Because prayer times follow the sun, they shift through the year. Visitors are asked to stay away during the five daily prayers and for about 90 minutes at Friday midday.
What it costs
Entry is free, as it is for any mosque. A guided tour is included on your pass, which is the part worth having u2014 the tile work and the architecture reward someone pointing them out.
Getting there
Take the T1 tram to Sultanahmet; the mosque is a short walk. From most Sultanahmet hotels it is walkable. From Taksim, take the F1 funicular to Kabatau015f and pick up the T1 tram.
Why it matters
Designed by Sedefku00e2r Mehmed Au011fa, a pupil of the great Ottoman architect Sinan, it is widely held to be the high point of classical Ottoman architecture u2014 a cascade of domes and semi-domes stepping down from the central dome.
It was also controversial. Six minarets matched the count at the Great Mosque of Mecca, and the objection was only settled by funding a seventh minaret there.
What to wear
Modest dress, shoes off, and heads covered for women. Scarves are available free at the entrance if you have not brought one.
Frequently asked questions
- For its interior u2014 over 20,000 u0130znik tiles, predominantly blue, which gave it the nickname. Its formal name is the Sultanahmet Mosque.
- It was built as a mosque in the early 1600s. Hagia Sophia was built as a cathedral roughly 1,100 years earlier and converted afterwards. The Blue Mosque has six minarets; Hagia Sophia has four.
- Yes, entry is free, as at any mosque. Donations are welcome but never expected. Your pass adds a guided tour at no cost.
- No. Visitors are asked to wait until prayers finish u2014 around 30 minutes each, and roughly 90 minutes at Friday midday.