The two mosques seem to be associated with each other quite often as they are located within a few blocks of each other. However, their history and design vary significantly. The Aya Sofia was built during Byzantine times and later converted into a mosque once the Ottomans took over. The Blue Mosque was entirely the brainchild of Sultan Ahmed and his superstar architect, Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa. Interestingly, Sultan Ahmed built the mosque to appease the big guy because he was convinced he had done something to anger God after his army suffered several consecutive ass-kickings.
We went to the Aya Sofia first during our initial stay in Istanbul. After the palace, it was a welcome and awe-inspiring visit. From the outside, the Aya Sofia doesn't look like much
But then you walk into the foyer
That is when we got a little giddy, knowing we were about to see something truly amazing.
It got even better once we entered the actual core of the structure. I will confess, we didn't do a very good job capturing the scale of this place. To give you an idea of how big we're talking about, the picture above is begins about 15 feet off the floor. You can see the top of a chandelier in the bottom of the image.
This picture is taken from the gallery level, which was perhaps 30 feet off the ground.
Since we couldn't capture the immensity of it in any one picture, we focused on particular details like these column capitals
There was also amazing mosaic and fresco work everywhere. The colors are still very vivid.
Some of the original Mosaics are left from the time it was a cathedral. The Ottomans preserved these mosaics as they found them.
In comparison to the Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque just didn't live up to the same standards. It was probably just as big, but the difference between the two was the Aya Sofia possessed artistry with even the minute details while the Blue Mosque sought to simply overwhelm you with its size. Once you began poking around the Blue Mosque, it was obvious that where the Aya Sofia had been painstakingly built and embellished over decades - if not centuries, the Blue Mosque was put up rather quickly and it lacked the attention to detail that the Aya Sofia displays without even trying. A good example is the massive structural supports of the Blue Mosque compared to the slim columns of the Aya Sofia. While built over 1,000 years later, the Blue Mosque does not try to push its architectural limits. Rather, it relies on huge structural columns to hold its weight. The Aya Sofia accomplished the same support 1,000 years earlier using beautiful and thin marble columns.
Look at these monsters
Instead of fresco, the Blue Mosque uses decorative tile work and calligraphy for its decoration. The tile looks amazing, but after seeing a certain amount of Ottoman buildings covered in similar tile, it becomes a bit eye-jarring. Call me old fashion, but intricate stonework and beautiful, intricate craftsmanship impresses me much more than replaceable painted tile. The calligraphy is a different story - I love it.
The one very nice thing about the Blue Mosque was its traditional mosque design. Since it was built from the start as a mosque, it incorporates outdoor space as Islamic architecture does so beautifully.
This square, even when crowded with tourists, was a very serene and pleasant place.
Overall, the mosques were pretty amazing. The Aya Sofia, again, cost $13.33 per person to enter (ouch!) but the Blue Mosque was free.
Tomorrow: The Bodrum peninsula and the Greek isle of Kos
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