Sinan / Classical
Çukurcuma Mosque (Muhyiddin Molla Fenari)
1541–1547 · Beyoğlu / Çukurcuma
Small neighbourhood mahalle mosque in Beyoğlu — an early Sinan work on the Galata side of the Golden Horn, designed for an influential şeyhülislam with a lineage going back to the first chief mufti of the Ottoman Empire.
- Minarets
- 1
- Built
- 1541–1547
- Architect
- Mimar Sinan
- Patron
- Fenerizade Şeyhülislam Muhyiddin Mehmed Efendi
- District
- Beyoğlu / Çukurcuma
History
The Muhyiddin Molla Fenari Mosque, commonly known as Çukurcuma Mosque, was built between 1541 and 1547 in the Çukurcuma neighbourhood of Beyoğlu by order of Şeyhülislam Muhyiddin Mehmed Efendi (Fenerizade) — a third-generation descendant of Molla Fenari, the first şeyhülislam of the Ottoman Empire. The architect was Mimar Sinan, during his early tenure as chief court architect. The patron died the following year (1548) and is buried in Eyüpsultan. The building has been repeatedly altered after neighbourhood fires, and its original 16th-century fabric is lost.
Architecture
Çukurcuma Mosque belongs to the group of small neighbourhood (mahalle) mosques Sinan designed for mid-ranking patrons rather than for the sultan. It is a simple rectangular prayer hall under a tiled roof, with no dome and a single minaret.
In Sinan's evolution
Sinan's early mimarbaşı phase (1541–1547), contemporaneous with Şehzade Mosque (1543–48). Represents the 'small scale' pole of his output — neighbourhood mosques, where he worked with vernacular techniques rather than imperial monumentality. Important as evidence that Sinan's early work was not limited to imperial commissions.
Sinan Tree →Facts
- Located in the Çukurcuma neighbourhood made famous by Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence. letstraveltoturkiye.com
