Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reopened Istanbul's iconic Blue Mosque, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan Bayram, also known as Eid al-Fitr, following a restoration effort that began 5 years ago.
Attending the mosque's opening ceremony, Erdoğan described it as "one of the most important symbols of Istanbul."
The mosque, called Sultanahmet Camii in Turkish, was built by Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I between 1609 and 1616 in the square carrying his name in Istanbul, the Ottoman capital. It is the only mosque in Türkiye with six minarets.
Europeans call it the "Blue Mosque" owing to its beautiful blue, green and white tiles.
