Sinan / Classical
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque, Kadırga
1567–1572 · Fatih / Kadırga
Four fragments of the Black Stone of the Kaaba — above the entrance, in the mihrab, above the minbar door and beneath its canopy.
- Dome
- 13 m
- Height
- 22.8 m
- Minarets
- 1
- Built
- 1567–1572
- Architect
- Mimar Sinan
- Patron
- Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and Ismihan Sultan
- District
- Fatih / Kadırga
History
The mosque was commissioned jointly by Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha — a Serbian-born devşirme recruit who served three sultans as the empire's highest official — and his wife Ismihan Sultan, a granddaughter of Suleiman the Magnificent. It was completed in 1571/72. According to the inscription over the courtyard gate, a church stood here before — probably that of St. Anastasia.
Architecture
Sinan resolved the challenging steep-slope site by designing a two-storey courtyard: the lower storey was divided into shops whose rents funded the mosque's upkeep. The prayer hall follows a hexagon-in-rectangle scheme, covered by a central dome 13 m in diameter and 22.8 m high, with four small semi-domes at the corners. The interior walls are clad in Iznik tiles featuring blue, red, and green floral patterns of chrysanthemums and tulips, with calligraphic panels in white thuluth script on a blue ground.
In Sinan's evolution
Mid-to-late mature period (1571). The hexagonal plan with corner semi-domes represents a refined solution to an extreme topographic challenge — compact urban site on a steep slope. Sinan solved the problem with a two-storey commercial courtyard, a technique unparalleled among his Istanbul mosques.
Sinan Tree →Facts
- The full complex — mosque, medrese, dervish lodge (tekke), latrines, and a reservoir with street fountain — was packed onto a constrained hillside plot, demonstrating Sinan's mastery of compact urban planning. istanbul-tourist-information.com
Photographs
