Sacred Places

Sultan Selim Complex

Sultan Selim Complex
The Sultan Selim complex which was built by Suleiman the Magnificient in memory of his father, Yavuz Sultan Selim, during the years 1516-1522 in the Sultan Selim area of the Fatih district on a hill which overlooks the Haliç (Golden Horn). It consists of a mosque, a soup-kitchen (imaret), a Sıbyan mektebi (Ottoman elementary-primary school),…
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Kılıç Ali Paşa Complex

Kılıç Ali Paşa Complex
The Kılıç Ali Paşa complex, which Kılıç Ali Paşa (the grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy) had built by the architect Sinan in the Tophane Square in 1581, consists of a mosque, a tomb, a sabil, a madrasah (Muslim theological school), and a Turkish bath. The mosque, the main unit of the complex, is located…
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Fatih Complex

Fatih Complex
The Fatih Complex is the first complex built after the conquest of Istanbul by Sultan Mehmed II in 1453. It extends over a large area and is located on Fevzi Paşa Street. It is a very large complex, which includes a mosque, a madrasah (religious school), a daruşşifa (hospital), a Turkish bath, a bazaar, a…
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Eyup Sultan Complex

Eyup Sultan Complex
The Eyup Sultan Complex, located in the middle of the city, gave its own name to its district It is one of the most prominent complexes experiencing a stream of sightseers visiting Istanbul. The name of the complex comes from Eyüp el-Ensari, a host of the Prophet (pbuh), who participated in pincer movement of Istanbul…
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Bayezit Complex

Bayezit Complex
The Bayezit Complex, built by Sultan Bayezid II (1451-1512), was constructed disorganizedly in the town in 1505, and it gives its name to the area in which it is situated. It consists of a mosque, a madrasah (religious school), a Turkish bath, a caravanserai, a hostel (tabhane), and a primary school (sıbyan mektebi). Although the…
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Ayazma Mosque

Ayazma Mosque
Sultan Mustafa III (1717-1774) had the Ayazma Mosque, which rises between the Salacak and Şemsipaşa districts of Üsküdar, built by the architect, Mehmed Tahir Ağa, in 1761. In addition, the mosque, which features predominately Western style architectural aspects, was built in memory of his mother Mihrişah Emine Hatun and his elder brother Şehzade Süleyman. It…
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Little Hagia Sophia Mosque

Little Hagia Sophia Mosque
Little Hagia Sophia Mosque was originally constructed as a church located between the Cankurtaran and Kadırga Neighborhoods of the Eminönü District by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527-565). The mosque, built in the year 530 CE, called the Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, was converted into a mosque during the reign of Sultan Bayezit…
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Fethiye Mosque

Fethiye Mosque
Fethiye Mosque was originally built as a church in the Çarsamba neighborhood of the Fatih District by the Byzantine historian, Mihail Glabas Tarkaniotes, in the late 13the century. Its original location was on a hillside looking down over the Haliç (Golden Horn). After the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, the Orthodox Patriarchate was moved from…
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Molla Celebi Mosque

Molla Celebi Mosque
Mehmed Vusuli Efendi, the Judge of Istanbul, ordered its construction by Architect Sinan on Meclisi Mebusan Street, in the Fındıklı district of Beyoglu county. It is said that it was built between 1561–1562. However, the precise date of the mosque’s construction is unknown, it is held that the mosque was established between the above mentioned…
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Beylerbeyi Mosque

Beylerbeyi Mosque
Beylerbeyi Mosque was founded on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus next to the Beylerbeyi quay. It was built by Sultan Abdülhamid I (1725-1789) in 1778 in memory of his mother, Rabia Sultan and designed by the architect Tahir Ağa. After the collapse of the Istavroz (Cross) Palace in the middle of the 18th century,…
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