Discover Istanbul & Turkey
with Private Tourist Guide Serif Yenen & Associates
“All travelers are tourists; not all tourists are travelers.” Be a traveler! Go beyond the ordinary. Mix with locals. Immerse yourself in the local culture.
In addition to showing you the highlights of the city, I’m prepared to take you to places not on the tourist’s typical itinerary, where we can have local experiences and meet local people. If you wish, we can use public transportation, try various kinds of street food, and take any opportunity for a spontaneous detour.
Daily rates start at $150 US for two guests in total. We have a variety of choices for all kinds of budgets, and depending upon your preferred time and personal interests. My associates and I are eager to share our knowledge and experience with you.
As a tour guide, I have more than 25 years of field experience. I served in the Tour Guide Organization for 13 years, and was elected President for four terms. I am also an author of many guidebooks and lecturer on Turkish travel.
VIPs who have used my services include: Pope Benedict XVI, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. George Friedman, Matt Lauer and Lester Holt.
Built by Sultan Ahmet I as a part of a large complex, among the Turkish people it is called Sultan Ahmet Mosque. However, tourists fascinated with the beautiful blue tiles always remember it as the Blue Mosque. The complex consisted of a mosque, tombs, medreses, fountains, a health center, kitchens, shops, a bath, rooms, houses and storehouses.
A 19-year-old Sultan started digging ceremoniously in the presence of high officials until he was tired. Thus began the construction in 1609 which continued until it was finished in 1616. An interesting fact about Sultan Ahmet is that he ascended to the throne at the age of 14 as the 14th ruler and died only 14 years later. Being close to the Topkapi Palace, Sultan Ahmet Mosque was regarded as the Supreme Imperial Mosque in Istanbul. Even though the palace was left and the sultan moved to the Dolmabahce Palace, Sultan Ahmet Mosque shared this pride with the Suleymaniye Mosque.
The architect was one of the apprentices of Sinan, Sedefkar Mehmet Aga. He designed one of the last examples of the classical period’s architectural style.
The mosque is situated in a wide courtyard which has five gates. There is an inner courtyard next to the mosque with three entrances. The inner courtyard is surrounded by porticos consisting of 26 columns and 30 domes. The sadirvan in the middle is symbolic, because the actual ones are outside on the walls of the inner courtyard. There are three entrances to the main building, one from the inner courtyard and two from both sides of the building. There are four minarets at the corners of the mosque having three serefes each. The two minarets at the far corners of the courtyard have two serefes each. There are six minarets in all, each of which is fluted.
The interior of the mosque is a square with a width of 51.65 m / 170 ft and a length of 53.40 m / 175 ft covered by a dome. The main dome rests on four semi-arches and four pendentives. The diameter of the dome is 22.40 m / 73.5 ft and the height is 43 m / 141 ft. The four piers carrying the dome are called elephant legs as each has a diameter of 5 m / 16.4 ft.
There are 260 windows which do not have original stained glasses any longer. The walls all along the galleries are covered with 21 thousand 17C Iznik tiles having many flower motifs in a dominant blue color.
Sound-and-light show
On summer evenings, generally beginning at 8:00 p.m., a sound-and-light show, which is worth seeing, is presented between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. The languages of the show Turkish, English, French and German rotate daily with one each night.
