The Sulatan Ahmed Mosque has a courtyard (sahn) surrounded by an arcade (riwaq) of tall, slender columns supporting a vaulted roof.

Each vault is decorated with intricate freize, dome and pendentive decorations in red pigment complementing the red stone used in the pointed arches. The freize patterns vary in each vault.

Generally the vaults have a circular base however those above entry points have an octagonal base and more intricate decoration.