MARMARA REGION MOSQUES
Ortakoy Mosque , Istanbul
The cascading domes and four slender minarets of the Imperial 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 Empire’s golden age. Erected on the crest of a hill, the building is conspicuous for its great size, emphasized by the four minarets that rise from each comer of the courtyard. Inside are the mihrab (prayer niche showing the direction to Mecca) and the mimber (pulpit) made of finely carved white marble and exquisite stained-glass windows coloring the incoming streams of light. It was in the gardens of this complex that Suleyman and his wife, Hurrem Sultan (Roxelane), had their mausolea built, and near here also Sinan built his own tomb. The mosque complex also includes four medreses, or theological schools, a school of medicine, a caravanserai, a Turkish bath, and a kitchen and hospice for the poor.
The Rustem Pasa Mosque, another skillful accomplishment of the architect Sinan, was built in 1561 by order of Rustem Pasa Grand Vizier and son-in-law of Suleyman the Magnificent. Exquisite Iznik tiles panel the small and superbly proportioned interior.
SultanAhmet Mosque , Istanbul
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, its 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 traditional site where Eyup the standard bearer of the Prophet Mohammed, died in the Islamic assault on Constantinople in A.D. 670. The first mosque built after the Ottoman conquest of the city, this greatly venerated shrine attracts many pilgrims.
Built between 1597 and 1663, the Yeni (New) Mosque looms 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. Marvelous Iznik tiles decorate what was once the sultan’s balcony.
Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque), Istanbul
The 16th-century Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Mosque built on an awkwardly shaped plot on a steeply sloping hill near Sultanahmet, is one of the most beautiful examples of classical Turkish architecture and another masterpiece of the architect Sinan. Inside, breathtaking blues, greens, purples and reds color the elegant designs of the Iznik 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 in 1555 by Sinan for Mihrimah Sultana, the daughter of Suleyman the Magnificent.
SultanAhmet Mosque , Istanbul
The province of Bilecik lies southeast of Iznik in the verdant and fertile Sakarya River Valleyand houses the Orhan Gazi Mosque.
On the shore of Lake Iznik stands the Roman Senate, where the first Council of Nicea took place in 325. In the center of the town is the Church of St. Sophia, used by other councils. One of the more important councils was in 745 over iconoclasm, the role of icons in worship. The “Baptisteriurn” has a cupola over the baptistry. The Ottomans converted this church into the Orhan Mosque.
Selimiye Mosque, Edirne
Among the important Islamic buildings in town, be sure to visit the turquoise tiled Yesil Mosque. The Yesil Mosque of 1424 reflects the new Ottoman, as opposed to Seljuk, aesthetic.Going uphill, to the east, you pass by the Emir Sultan Mosque in its delightful setting, and after walking through a district of old houses you reach the Yildirim Beyazit Mosque (1391). On one side of the Koza Park stands one of Bursa’s oldest religious buildings, the Orhan Gazi Mosque, built in 1413. Nearby is the large Ulu Mosque, constructed in the Seljuk style. A finely carved walnut mimber (speaker’s platform) and impressive calligraphic panels decorate the mosque. At the Yildiz Park Tea Gardens in the Muradiye quarter, you get a superb view of the Muradiye Complex. The compound, in a tranquil park-like setting, contains the Mosque of Sultan Murat II (1426) built in the style of the Yesil Mosque.
The most important architectural monument in Tekirdag is the Rustem Pasa Mosque, designed by Sinan and built in 1554 by the Grand Vizier of Suleyman the Magnificent.
Edirne is famous for its mosques. The Selimiye Mosque is the city’s focal point occupying the top of a hill. Sinan’s design reflects the classical Ottoman style. Built on the orders of Sultan Selim. 11, (1569-1575) it attests to the technological abilities of the day and the genius of the master Ottoman architect. The Eski Mosque is the oldest Ottoman structure in Edirne built between 1403 and 1414 by Mehmet 1. The white marble of its portal contrasts with the building’s cut stone and brick masonry. Calligraphic inscriptions of Koranic verses decorate the interior. The Uc Serefeli Mosque, built between 1438 and 1447 by Murat 1, presages the great period of mosque architecture under Sinan and embodies a new freedom from restraint as well as advances in engineering. The northwest minaret has three galleries,giving the mosque its name. It was the highest minaret until those of the Selimiye Mosque in Istanbul eclipsed it.
The Sokollu Mosque in Luleburgaz, on the Edirne-Istanbul road, is an exquisite work of Sinan that dates from 1570. The neighboring town of Babaeski also boasts a Sinan building in the Cedi Ali Pasa Mosque.
