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Sultanahmet District
Facing St. Sophia stands the supremely
elegant, six-minaret, imperial Sultan
Ahmet Mosque. Built between 1609 and 1616
by the architect Mehmet, the bulding is
more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque
necause its interior gleams with a
magnificent paneiring of blue and white
Iznik tiles. During the tourist season an
evening light and sound show both
entertains and informs.
The cascading domes and four slender
minarets of Suleymaniye Mosque dominate
the skyline on the Golden Horn's west
bank. Considered the most beautiful of all
imperial mosques in istanbul, it was built
between 1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the
renowned architect of the Ottoman golden
age. On the crest of a hill, the building
is conspicuous for its great size, wh1ch
the four minarets that rise from each
corner of the courtyard emphasize. Inside,
the mihrab (prayer niche) and the mimber
(pulpit) are of finely carved white
marble; fine stained glass windows color
the incoming streams of light. It was in
the gardens of this complex that Suleyman
and his wife Hurrem Surtan had their
mausolea built. and near here also that
Sinan built his own tomb.the mosque
complex also includes four medrese, or
theoiogical schools, a school of medicine,
a caravanserai, a Turkish bath, and a
kitchen and hospice for the poor.
Suleymaniye
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Ortakoy Mosque |
Another skillful accomplishment of the
architect Sinan, the Rustem Pasa
Mosque was built in 1561 on the orders
of Rustem Pasa, Grand Vizier and
son-in-law of Suleyman the
Magnificent. Exquisite lznik tiles
panel the small and superbly
proportioned interior.
The imperial Fatih Mosque, constructed
between 1463 and 1470, bears the name
of the Ottoman conqueror of Istanbul,
Fatih Sultan Mehmet, and is the site
of his mausoleum. Standing atop
another of Istanbul's hills, it vast
size and great complex of religious
buildings -- medreses, hospices,
baths, a hospital, a caravanserai and
a library -- make it well worth a
visit.
The great Mosque of Eyup lies outside
the city walls near the Golden Horn,
at the supposed place where Eyup, the
standard bearer of the Prophet
Mohammed. died in the Islamic assault
on Constantinople in 670. The first
mosque built after the Ottomanconquest
of the city, this greatly venerated
shrine attracts many pilgrims. |
Built between 1597 and 1663. the Yeni
(New) Mosque hovers over the harbor at
Eminonu greeting the incoming
ferryboats and welcoming tourists to
the old city. Today its graceful domes
and arches shelter hundreds of pigeons
who make this area their home.
Marvellous lznik tiles decorate the
sultan's balcony.
The 16th century Sokollu Mehmet Pasa
Mosque built in an awkwardly shaped
plot on a steeply sloping hill near
Sultanahmet is one of the most
beautiful examples of classical
Turkish architecture and a masterpiece
of the architect Sinan. Inside,
breathtaking blues, greens, purples
and reds color the elegant designs of
the lznik tiles.
Walls of glass fill the four immense
arches that support the central dome
at the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque inside
the Edirne gate of the old city walls.
One hundred and sixty-one windows
illuminate this mosque, built by Sinan
for Mihrimah Sultan, the daughter of
Suleyman the Magnificent, in 1555.
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Sokollu Mosque |
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