One of Istanbul’s iconic structures, widely recognized by local and foreign tourists, the Blue Mosque, locally known as Sultan Ahmed Mosque, is scheduled to be reopened for worship on the occasion of Ramazan Bayram, also known as Eid-al Fitr, after undergoing the most comprehensive restoration in its 400-year history for six years.
Preparations for the mosque, which is set to reopen on April 21 for the Ramazan Bayram prayer, have been accelerated. Recently, the mosque, which is the first and only six-minaret mosque of Ottoman architecture, was photographed by a drone, unveiling the building’s current state before its glorious reopening.
The mosque, contributing to the silhouette of Istanbul, was built by architect Sedefkar Mehmet Agha upon the order of Ottoman Sultan Ahmed in the 17th century and opened to worship in 1617. It was built across from the Hagia Sophia, which served as a church at that time.
As one of the world’s most famous mosques, its reopening is quite crucial for the faithful, especially for the Ramazan Bayram prayer. On the other hand, the reopening date was announced by Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy on his social media account. It is one of the most significant mosques in the Muslim world and is an active place of worship. It was built at a time when the Ottoman Empire was at its zenith, and the mosque served as a symbol of the Ottoman Empire’s power and influence.
As the reopening approaches, the scaffolding on the mosque’s minarets has been completely removed. While restoration continues in the inner and outer courtyards of the mosque, scaffolding and tarps are still visible on the southern facade. The giant finial – an ornate metal object – on the main dome, which is 43 meters (141 feet) high, amazed viewers, with its golden color.
Source – Daily Sabah
