Other Mosques in 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 Eyüp lies outside the city walls, near the Golden Horn, at the
supposed place where Eyüp, the standard bearer of the Prophet Mohammed,
died in the Islamic assault on Constantinople in 670 A.D. 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 hovers over the harbor at Eminönü, 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 the sultan's balcony.
The l6th 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 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 by Sinan for Mihrimah Sultana, the
daughter of Süleyman the Magnificent in 1555.
|
