Archaeology: What's Hot Now: The Blue Mosque of Istanbul

Archaeology: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

The Blue Mosque of Istanbul Feb 5th 2012, 11:08 Constantinople is the old name for Istanbul, the great city located in what is now Turkey. The first urban settlement at the site of Istanbul was founded as Greek colony about 658 BC, led by a fellow named Byzas from Megara. The town was then called Byzantium. In AD 330, Byzantium was reconfigured as the capital city of the Emperor Constantine the Great, head of the Byzantine Empire. It fell to the Ottoman Empire 1000 years later, in 1453. It was officially renamed Istanbul in 1923. The city has some of the most beautiful architecture in the world, from Greek, Byzantine, and Islamic civilizations. The Blue Mosque pictured here was built between 1609 and 1616 at the behest of Sultan Ahmet I, and is said to be patterned on the Hagia Sophia. Sources For more history of Constantine and his city, see N.S. Gill's article on Constantine the Great. More photos can be found at the Photo Gallery of the Blue Mosque, from About.com's guide to atheism.

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