The mosque in Istanbul with six minarets and famous blue Iznik tiles is the Blue Mosque, formally the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
Built between 1609 and 1617 during Sultan Ahmed I’s reign, it was designed by Sedefkar Mehmed Agha, a student of the celebrated Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. Its six slender minarets, large courtyard, central dome, and surrounding semi-domes create one of Istanbul’s defining skylines.
The popular name comes from the thousands of Iznik tiles used inside, especially around the lower walls and galleries. Their designs include tulips, carnations, cypress trees, fruit, and geometric patterns in blue, turquoise, green, red, and black. The mosque is not literally painted entirely blue, a common misunderstanding.
It stands opposite Hagia Sophia beside the former Hippodrome, and the two buildings reflect Istanbul’s layered Byzantine and Ottoman history. A famous story says the six-minaret design caused controversy because the Kaaba in Mecca also had six; Sultan Ahmed reportedly resolved the issue by funding a seventh minaret there.