At
its lower levels and at every
pier, the interior of the mosque
is lined with more than 20,000
handmade ceramic tiles, made at
Iznik (the ancient Nicaea) in
more than fifty different tulip
designs. The tiles at lower
levels are traditional in
design, while at gallery level
their design becomes flamboyant
with representations of flowers,
fruit and cypresses. More than
20,000 tiles were made under the
supervision of the Iznik master
potter Kasici Hasan and Mustafa
Mersin Efendi from
Avanos(Cappadocia). The price to
be paid for each tile was fixed
by the sultan's decree, while
tile prices in general increased
over time. As a result, the
quality of the tiles used in the
building decreased gradually.
Their colours have faded and
changed (red turning into brown
and green into blue, mottled
whites) and the glazes have
dulled. The tiles on the back
balcony wall are recycled tiles
from the harem in the
Topkapı Palace, when it was
damaged by fire in 1574.
The
upper levels of the interior are
dominated by blue paint, but it
is of poor quality. More than
200 stained glass windows with
intricate designs admit natural
light, today assisted by
chandeliers. On the chandeliers,
ostrich eggs are found that were
meant to avoid cobwebs inside
the mosque by repelling spiders.
The decorations include verses
from the Qur'an, many of them
made by Seyyid Kasim Gubari,
regarded as the greatest
calligrapher of his time. The
floors are covered with carpets,
which are donated by faithful
people and are regularly
replaced as they wear out. The
many spacious windows confer a
spacious impression. The
casements at floor level are
decorated with opus sectile.
Each exedra has five windows,
some of which are blind. Each
semi-dome has 14 windows and the
central dome 28 (four of which
are blind). The coloured glass
for the windows was a gift of
the Signoria of Venice to the
sultan. Most of these coloured
windows have by now been
replaced by modern versions with
little or no artistic merit.
The most important element in
the interior of the mosque is
the mihrab, which is made of
finely carved and sculptured
marble, with a stalactite niche
and a double inscriptive panel
above it. The adjacent walls are
sheathed in ceramic tiles. But
the many windows around it make
it look less spectacular. To the
right of the mihrab is the
richly decorated minber,
or pulpit, where the Imam stands
when he is delivering his sermon
at the time of noon prayer on
Fridays or on holy days. The
mosque has been designed so that
even when it is at its most
crowded, everyone in the mosque
can see and hear the Imam.
The royal kiosk is situated at
the south-east corner. It
comprises a platform, a loggia
and two small retiring rooms. It
gives access to the royal loge
in the south-east upper gallery
of the mosque. These retiring
rooms became the headquarters of
the Grand Vizier during the
suppression of the rebellious
Janissary Corps in 1826. The
royal loge (hünkâr mahfil)
is supported by ten marble
columns. It has its own mihrab,
that used to be decorated with a
jade rose and gilt and one
hundred Qurans on inlaid and
gilded lecterns.
The many lamps inside the mosque
were once covered with gold and
gems. Among the glass bowls one
could find ostrich eggs and
crystal balls. All these
decorations have been removed or
pillaged for museums.
The great tablets on the walls
are inscribed with the names of
the caliphs and verses from the
Quran, originally by the great
17th-century calligrapher Ametli
Kasım Gubarım, but they have
frequently been restored.
