MERZİFONLU KARA MUSTAFA PASHA COMPLEX

Divanyolu, Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'32.2"N 28°58'06.0"E / 41.008944, 28.968333



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The complex was not yet completed when the Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, who became Chief Captain of the Sea first and Grand Vizier afterwards, was executed after the unsuccessful siege of Vienna in 1663. It is situated in Divanyolu street. It was initiated by Merzifonlu Pasha in 1681 and after his death was completed by his son Damat Ali Pasha in 1690.

Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha (Born 1634/1635 - died 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman military leader and grand vizier who was a central character in the empire's last attempts at expansion into both Central Europe and Eastern Europe.

Born to Turkish parents in Merzifon, he was adopted into the powerful Köprülü family at a young age and served as a messenger to Damascus for his brother-in-law, the grand vizier Ahmed Köprülü. He directed in the name of Köprülü family's mukata' or tımar fields in Merzifon. After distinguishing himself, Merzifonlu Mustafa became a vizier in his own right and, by 1663 or 1666, Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy).

He was buried in the tomb complex, which was completed by Architect Hamdi in 1690, by his son Ali Bey. According to records, after Kara Mustafa Pasha died, funds were borrowed for the completion of the madrasah and complex.

Some stores of the complex were demolished during the extension works of Divanyolu at the beginning of the 20th century, and the madrasah and the primary school were restored in 1690.

This octagonal mosque was constructed with küfeki stone. The mosque’s interior decoration, which was restored after many years, is not notable. Octogonal designed mosques are very rare.

The madrasah of the complex is a research institute, which was established on behalf of the famous poet, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı (1884 - 1958). There is a small cistern under the complex.

Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha Public Fountain protruding as if it were challenging the construction plan, the public fountain of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha Social complex, built In Çarşıkapı in 1684, is one of the biggest, the most beautiful and the latest of the classical public fountains.

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YAVAŞCA ŞAHİN MEHMET ALİ PAŞA MOSQUE

Mercan, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'45.9"N 28°57'58.1"E / 41.012750, 28.966139



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Yavaşça Şahin Mehmet Ali Paşa mosque is on the intersection of Fuat Paşa Avenue and Mercan Avenue, across the southeastern gate of the Central Building of Istanbul University. Yavaşça Şahin was a captain in the fleet of Sultan Mehmet II at the time of the Conquest.

The structure is also known as Aga Mosque and Yakup Aga Mosque. After burning down of the mosque  built in 1547 with the order of Palace Aga Yakup Aga before his death for the funeral prayers of the Palace residents, the Aga mosque was constructed in 1869 with the order of one of the most prominent viziers of Sultan Abdulaziz period, Ali Pasha (1915-1871).

The architect of the structure is Italian architect Boriori. On the epigraph in a oval madallion is placed the monogram of Sultan Abdülaziz. The structure had been heavily damaged at the Mercan Fire in 1912 and was left ruined for 37 years. The Mosque was restored to reflect the period of Ali Pasha by Foundations General Directorate betweeen 1949-1953 and opened to service.

This eclectic-styled building is quite  striking with the shops at tis bottom, the public fountain at its corner and  its octagonal mass. The scheme which is octagonal externally is  being rounded inside and covered with a dome.

 It is one of a small group of early mosques that form a distinct type, in which the front porch has only two domes, and the entrance portal is consequently shifted off centre under the south dome. Within, a square chamber with a blind dome resting on an octagonal drum is supported by a series of triangles, making a 16-sided base.

The mosque is being illuminated with windows  overseeing the avenues. Three of these Windows that overlook the center are very high and decorated with round arches. On the arches at the stirrup points there are overhangs which maket hem look as horseshoes.  On top of these wisnows there are round top-windows  decorated with plaster stained glass from inside and the seal of Solomon from outside.

Despite the rather plain decoration inside, the mosque has a very vibrant outer look. The eaves of the mosque is has no classical proportions. On top of the eaves there are sliced arch-looking facades decorated with stylized plant motives inside and covering the structure as coronas. The both sides of the round Windows are being decorated with hexagonal stones and the spaces at the joint points of the hexagons are filled with red and green stones.

A belt of cantilevers is marking the space between the first floor where the mosque is and the ground flor where the public fountain and the shops are. There are round Windows on the ground floor whose original use is not discovered but is used for prayers today.

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KILIÇ ALİ PAŞA MOSQUE

Tophane Square - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'36.0"N 28°58'51.0"E / 41.026667, 28.980833



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Situated in the Tophane Square, it is a small complex consisting of a mosque, a religious school, a tomb, a public fountain and a hamam. It was built by Architect Sinan on the orders of Admiral Kılıç Ali Paşa. It is one of the last projects of Architect Sinan's later works. Sinan being the most famous of all Ottoman architects. Kılıç Ali Paşa was the grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy between 1571 and 1587.

The Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex is a group of buildings designed and built between 1580 and 1587 by Mimar Sinan, who at the time was in his 90s. The mosque itself was constructed in 1578-1580. It is located in the Tophane neighbourhood of the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is named after Kılıç Ali Pasha.

His religious complex in Istanbul is located across the Ottoman canon foundry (Tophane) near Karaköy, and was built by Ottoman court architect Sinan towards the end of his career in 1581. Chosen for its proximity to the Tophane Pier, the site is now located further inland due to infills along the Bosphorus shoreline. 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.

According to the folklore Kılıç Ali Paşa asked Sultan Murat III to give him land to build a mosque. The Sultan replied because Kılıç Ali Paşa was such a great admiral he should build a mosque in the sea. That explains why the sea shore was filled up and the complex was built in that position. The mosque is surrounded by a large courtyard and the assembly area is covered by a sloping roof, with ornate carvings on the three doors of the inner garden. There are Quranic verses painted on the ceramic panels over the windows. In the garden is a fountain with eight marble columns and a covering dome.

In 1948, the 16th century ship's lantern which hung from the main dome was moved to the Maritime Museum. On the right hand side a minaret rises with the balcony. The tomb of Kılıç Ali Paşa is located in the garden facing east. By the garden wall facing the street is a fountain. The hamam on the right hand side of the mosque is still in use today. The school is located on the sea side of the hamam.

The courtyard is open during the day. The larger complex includes a mosque, a madrasa, public baths and a cemetery including the founder's tomb, all aligned with qibla to the east of south. The mosque and cemetery are surrounded by a rectangular precinct wall with iron-grill windows, which was pulled back to its current location during road enlargements in 1956, constricting the mosque's forecourt. Among the five precinct gates, the two along the main boulevard and the side gates to the northeast and southwest lead into the forecourt which is dominated by the double portico of the mosque.

The mosque and cemetery are surrounded by a rectangular precinct wall with iron-grill windows, which was pulled back to its current location during road enlargements in 1956, constricting the mosque's forecourt. Among the five precinct gates, the two along the main boulevard and the side gates to the northeast and southwest lead into the forecourt which is dominated by the double portico of the mosque.

Mosque
The plan scheme of the mosque, built by Sinan the Architect in 1580. The central dome of the mosque is 12.70 metres (41.7 ft) in diameter, carried on pendentives on granite piers and two half-domes on the Qibla axis. Towards the entrance, on two sides, there is a two-story gallery. The dome is placed at the center with two exedrae similar to a Byzantine basilica, thus the resemblance to Hagia Sophia.

The mosque is based on a rectangular design and is an enlarged plan of the Haghia Sophia mosque. The top of the windows is adorned by the tiles and the largest dome is resting on four elephant leg shaped marble columns and is supported in the east and the west by two half domes. In each of the four corners a small dome is located and colored tiles with flower motifs decorate the mosque's interior. The largest dome has twenty four windows and including these the building has a total of 147 windows.

Kılıç Ali Pasha, who was a conscript recruit of Italian origin, had this complex built outside the Galata city walls, based on the Ayasofya design concept. It is another one of Sinan’s architectural works that has reached our day in quite a good condition. Its similarity to the Hagia Sophia has been sometimes considered to be a negative factor by some critiques and attributed to the Pasha’s past, or his attempt at creating such a splendor just near the non-muslim Galata neighborhood.

This large scale mosque displays a celebration of architecture with its references to the Hagia Sophia, unique plan, rich and highly refined marble workmanship in the burial area. The central dome of main space of the mosque is 12.70 m in diameter, which has a rectanglular plan, is placed on a pulley with windows. The weight of the dome is distributed on four piers with supporting pendentives. It is thought that the mosque was an improved sample of the architectural aesthetics of the Hagia Sophia and is decorated with Iznik tiles from 16th century workmanship.

The mosque is completely lit by a total of 147 windows, 24 of which are exist on the pulley of its dome. A historical beacon belonging to the 16th century, which can be found at the Naval Museum of Istanbul today, was also used for lightening. In addition, during the renovation period in the 19th century, the minaret of the mosque with its single balcony was renewed and the Baroque ornaments were added to it.

The northwest wall, across from the portico, is lined by an arcade with ablution spigots. Additional washing areas are located around the dodecagonal ablution fountain (şadırvan) that occupies the center of the narrow forecourt, protected by a domed kiosk carried on eight pillars. The forecourt is largely shaded with the long eaves of the mosque portico, ablution arcade and the ablution fountain. The outdoor prayer space of the mosque consists of a raised five-bay portico enveloped by an arcade with shorter columns on three sides, forming a double portico.

The inner portico features muqarnas capitals and is covered with domes, while the outer portico has a shed roof and diamond-cut capitals. Iron screens placed between the outer columns separate the double portico from the forecourt, limiting entry to a carved marble doorway inside the central bay. The tall mosque portal is centered on the portico façade and crowned by an inscriptive plaque and a large triangular panel with a mirrored inscription highlighted in gold. Without the portico, the mosque measures thirty one and a half meters by twenty six meters on the exterior.

Above the prayer hall are five small domes carried on six marble columns. The tile panels placed high in the prayer hall are inscribed with ayats (verses) from the Quran. The mosque has only one minaret with one gallery. The mihrab is in a square projecting apse.

A 16th-century beacon that used to hang from the central dome was taken off to be displayed at the Museum of Ottoman and Turkish Naval History in 1948.

The outdoor prayer space of the mosque consists of a raised five-bay portico enveloped by an arcade with shorter columns on three sides, forming a double portico. The inner portico features muqarnas capitals and is covered with domes, while the outer portico has a shed roof and diamond-cut capitals. Iron screens placed between the outer columns separate the double portico from the forecourt, limiting entry to a carved marble doorway inside the central bay.

The tall mosque portal is centered on the portico façade and crowned by an inscriptive plaque and a large triangular panel with a mirrored inscription highlighted in gold. Without the portico, the mosque measures thirty one and a half meters by twenty six meters on the exterior.

Inside, the tall nave of the prayer hall is covered by a central dome measuring thirteen meters in diameter, braced by two semi domes of the same radius to the northwest and southeast. Like at the Hagia Sophia, the lateral thrust of the dome is asymmetrically countered with grand arches in the other two directions, requiring the placement of heavy flying buttresses on the exterior. Double-story galleries flank the nave on all sides except for qibla where the shallow mihrab apse projects into the cemetery behind the mosque, covered with a small semi-dome.

The vertical loads of the dome are transferred via pendentives onto four massive piers built into the gallery arcades. The nave is illuminated from the top with rings of windows pierced into the base of the dome and the semi-domes, and from clerestory windows inside the tympana of the dome arches. Two tiers of casements bring light and air into the galleries; both tiers are topped by arched windows featuring colored glass set in plaster. A continuous stone cornice envelops the interior at the springing of the dome arches, adding stability to the structure as well as creating a catwalk for maintenance.

On the qibla wall, the rectangular mihrab apse is covered entirely with floral Iznik tiles and inscriptive tile panels. Four plaster windows inside the apse and two others set high on the qibla wall feature intricate colored glass compositions containing floral arabesques and inscriptions. The marble mihrab is adorned simply with a muqarnas hood, while the sides of the marble minbar are carved with arabesques painted in gold. The muezzin's platform (müezzin mahfili) is located across the minbar to the right of the entrance, and is carried over eight marble columns.

Interior walls of the galleries and all vaulted surfaces are covered with white plaster and painted in sections with floral arabesques. Inscriptive medallions adorn the apex of tall dome and the pendentives of the central dome. The cut-stone construction of the gallery arcades and the qibla wall are left exposed.

The mosque, the main unit of the complex, is located in the middle of  the courtyard. During the road construction works in 1956, the frame of the courtyard lost its original shape when its wall was moved back. The last prayer section of the mosque is covered by five domes, and the porch is covered with lead encircling the last prayer section in three directions creating this section’s ceiling structure.

Minaret
The single minaret of the mosque is attached to the west corner of the prayer hall. Its steps are accessed from one of two symmetrical stairways at either end of the northwest arcade that lead up to the gallery level. All domes and roofs, including the conical crown of the minaret, are covered with lead panels on the exterior.

Tomb of Kılıç Ali Paşa
The octagonal stone tomb of the founder is located in the cemetery behind the qibla wall of the mosque. Its dome is carried on four arches that rest on a thick wall to the northeast and two free-standing columns to the southeast. Its portal is set into the northeast wall, topped by the foundation plaque.

The tomb of the complex, situated on an octagonal plan with cut-stone, located on the side overlooking the sea, belongs to Kılıç Ali Paşa. At the outer courtyard in the graveyard stands an octagonal türbe with a dome also made by Mimar Sinan. It's wooden doors are inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Kılıç Ali Pasha's tomb lies inside the tomb.

The courtyard is open during the day. This is a place where high-level Ottoman naval officers have been laid to rest. It is closed to visitors but can easily be viewed from the outside. The Tomb of Kılıç Ali Pasha is also an unusual structure with a unique plan. The portico was brought inside, instead of projecting to the exterior.

 It's wooden doors are inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Kılıç Ali Pasha's tomb lies inside the türbe. The octagonal tomb of Kılıç Ali Pasha in the cemetery of the mosque is almost the only example of a two columned front porch.

Madrasa
The madrasa is located to the south of the mosque. It is square in plan and measures about twenty-five meters per side. Its fountain court is surrounded by an arcade with eleven domed bays that give access to eighteen student cells. The large domed classroom iwan projects beyond the northeast wing of the madrasa and faces the cemetery like the mosque apse.

The madrasah near the bath, which measures 27.2 x 28.7 m, has a courtyard, 17 rooms, and a classroom. The medrese, opposite the southeast corner of the mosque, is almost square. This structure might not be constructed by Mimar Sinan as it is not in the official list of his works, the Tazkirat-al-Abniya. The madrasa is located to the south of the mosque.

Bath
The bath of the complex is a building covered by a dome located on the right-hand side of the mosque. The public baths (hamam) of the complex is located outside the precinct walls, to the southwest of the mosque and was completed by 1583. Measuring eighteen meters by thirty one and a half meters, the baths consist of a hot-room preceded by a dressing room of equal size to its northwest. The hexagonal hall of the hot-room is flanked by seven private cells, five of which have domes. The central spaces of the hot-room and the dressing room are covered by domes pierced with lights; the larger dome of the dressing room is fourteen meters in diameter.

It is known that the bath at the right of the mosque was under construction in 1583. Its layout is different from classical baths because the changing room was placed between two cool rooms instead of putting in front of cool room. The diameter of the dome roofing for the changing room is 14.1 m. To the right of the mosque is the hamam, of which the construction was completed in 1583.

The public baths (hamam) of the complex is located outside the precinct walls, to the southwest of the mosque. Measuring 18 meters by 31,5 meters, the baths consist of a hot-room preceded by a dressing room of equal size to its northwest. The hexagonal hall of the hot-room is flanked by 7 private cells, 5 of which have domes. The central spaces of the hot-room and the dressing room are covered by domes pierced with lights; the larger dome of the dressing room is 14 meters in diameter. The baths are no longer in function and are in need of restoration.

The glass doors lead into two separate soğukluk (cool rooms) that are placed on either sides of the hararet (caldarium-hot room) which is hexagonal in plan with open bathing places in four of its six arched recesses, the other two opening to the soğukluks. The placement of the soğukluks and the plan of the hararet differ from the usual application carried out by Sinan in his other extant hamams.

Sebil
It is thought that the sabils existing on the courtyard’s wall belong to the complex. The domed sabil of the complex projects onto the street at the northern corner of the precinct walls and is entered from a door inside the mosque courtyard.

Şadırvan
The northwest wall, across from the portico, is lined by an arcade with ablution spigots. Additional washing areas are located around the dodecagonal ablution fountain (şadırvan) that occupies the center of the narrow forecourt, protected by a domed kiosk carried on eight pillars. The forecourt is largely shaded with the long eaves of the mosque portico, ablution arcade and the ablution fountain.

Rumours
The Turkish researcher Rasih Nuri İleri claimed during his examination of the complex's foundation documents that Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes was a forced worker at the construction of the complex during his enslavement, like the Captive character in his novel Don Quixote.

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VALİDE PERTEVNİYAL MOSQUE

Aksaray Square, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'37.0"N 28°57'10.0"E / 41.010278, 28.952778



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The Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque, also known as the Aksaray Valide Mosque (Turkish: Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Camii, Aksaray Valide Sultan Camii), is an Ottoman imperial mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. It is located at the intersection of Ordu Street and Atatürk Boulevard in the Aksaray neighborhood. It is located next to Pertevniyal High School (Turkish: Pertevniyal Lisesi) which was also built by the order of Sultana Pertevniyal in 1872.

One of the last mosques built in Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire, the Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque was built for the Sultana Pertevniyal, wife of Sultan Mahmud II and mother of Sultan Abdülaziz. It was designed by the Italian architect Montani. The construction work began in November 1869, and the mosque was finished in 1871.

The complex, which comprises several buildings around a central mosque (külliye), was commissioned by Pertevniyal Valide Sultan and consists of a mosque, a tomb, a sabil, a public fountain, a clock-room where timepieces for calculating prayer times accurately on a daily basis were kept, a library, and a theological school (madrasa). The mosque is a single-domed, square prayer hall, following the traditional plan. In front of its strongly vertical mass is an additional two-storey building that comprises the portico for latecomers, men's and women's areas, the sultan's loge and various rooms.

Attached to this additional building, separate from the main body of the mosque, are two minarets, each with a single balcony. The square prayer hall measures 10 m x 10 m and is extended with arches on four sides. The mosque's east, west and south façades are all emphasised with turrets and the outward projections of their central sections are each crowned with a triangular pediment. Each section has two rows of three windows. The dome, separated from the walls and brought inward, is supported on a high, 12-sided drum.

The Valide Mosque is located on the north-west side of Aksaray Square in Fatih. The Valide Mosque stands at the very beginning of the Atatürk Boulevard, at the crossroads of the Aksaray Square. It was built at the behest of Sultan Abdülaziz's (1861-1876) mother, Pertevniyal Valide Sultan, between 1869-1871 and was designed by the architect, Sarkis Balyan. It is also known that Agop Balyan made a contribution to the project. It is claimed by some sources that the architecture of the mosque was Montani, an Italian architect.

There had previously stood a mosque named Hacı Mustafa Ağa located on the former site of the Valide Mosque. The present-day Valide Mosque was built on the ruins of that mosque. It was mainly designed as a complex which including a muvakkithane (a time keeping room), a fountain, a tomb and Sıbyan Mektebi (an Ottoman elementary-primary school). The mosque is composed of two sections: the last prayer section and the Harim (sanctum sanctorum). The size of the Harim is 10 x 10 m, and the ceiling structure is composed of a dome.

The Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque is noteworthy for the density and variety of its decoration. The projecting central sections of the façades and the windows on the drum of the dome are executed in the Gothic style. The design of triple blind niches above the windows, for instance, borrow elements from Ottoman decorative art, while their location recalls examples from North African and Andalusian architecture.

The blind niches, as well as the decorative compositions of arabesques and palmettes on the façades, are, like the muqarnas, elements borrowed from Classical Ottoman art. The corner turrets, each of which terminates in a lobed onion-dome reminiscent of Indian architecture, are decorated with niches containing muqarnas, again borrowed from Classical Ottoman architecture, as well as the simple blind niches and various geometric motifs.

The Neo-Gothic style of the Valide Mosque differentiates it architecturally from the more classic mosques. The single dome is quite high, but small. The mosque's main body and front are different from any other mosques built up to that period. The neo-gothic embellishments, in particular, reinforce the mosque's unique beauty. The interior of the mosque also boasts an array of rich and beautiful embellishments. The interior is fully decorated with-blue inscriptions and engravings shining with gold gilding. The mosque has two minarets and a single gallery.

Among the historical mosques of Istanbul, its ornaments and decorations have been more extensively used than others. The western impact on the architectural design during the period, combined with 16th-17th century decoration techniques, have been blended together in the mosque. Additionally, the decorations still shine with a gleaming, blue color, and its engraved ornaments have become prominent elements within the architectural aesthetic. Both the inner and outer sides of the mosque’s walls are marble panels decorated with motifs and calligraphies depicting selected verses from the Qur’an.

The interior space, like the façades, is densely decorated. Ottoman motifs are used in painted decoration (kalemişi) in which blue dominates. A cornice with muqarnas surrounds the upper section of the lower row of windows. On the surfaces of the walls, as on the façades, classical Ottoman elements are found including blind niches, muqarnas, arch motifs, arabesques, and Chinese-inspired floral ornament. The marble mihrab and minbar are plain.

The door of the courtyard, which looks out onto Aksaray Square, is strikingly different from other mosques of İstanbul  The door frame is one of the rare and unique examples of the art of stone engraving. The stone workmanship on the court door opening toward the Aksaray Square is the pinnacle of success of Ottoman stone workmanship.

The mosque is actually part of a complex made up of a school, tomb, clock room and public fountain. During the reorganization of Aksaray Square in 1956-1959 the other parts of the complex were either destroyed or, as in the case of the public fountain, moved elsewhere. Due to the renovation of the underpass and of the upper roads as well as to the increasing of the overall height of the road, the mosque appears to be burried underground today.

Wood Carving And Inlays
The ancient Turkish art of wood carving makes use of a variety of different design techniques on traditional forms such as columns, doors, window covers, chests, stools, and Quran covers. By the seventeenth century, inlays of ivory, bone, mother-of-pearl and other semi-precious stones were applied as inlays for carved wood pieces.

Perhaps the most ubiquitous use of mother-of-pearl inlays in Turkey are to be found in palace furniture and architecture. The most magnificent sites for such incomparable work are the Topkapı Palace, the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, the Tomb of Murad III, the Beylerbeyi Palace and the Blue Mosque.

Stone Carving
Frequently used on the walls of buildings, mosques, minarets, gates, columns, pools and tombstones as a decorative feature, stone carvings added strenght and durability to structures in addition to its aesthetic function. Although almost all kinds of stones were used for carving and art work, marble and sandstone traditionally have been the most frequently used stone for this purpose.

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MERKEZ EFENDİ MOSQUE

Zeytinburnu - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'57.0"N 28°55'11.0"E / 41.015833, 28.919722



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Merkezefendi Mosque dates back to 1580 and was once part of a large complex but many of the buildings have since been lost.  It was built with the assistance of Şah Sultan, a daughter of Sultan Selim II.  It underwent a complete makeover in 1837 and inside the stone exterior there is a lovely wooden interior that has a curtained mihrab painted on the back wall. Merkez Efendi was famous for his strength as well as for inventing mesir paste and having served as a doctor.

The Merkez Efendi Mosque was built on the site of a dervish lodge which had been commissioned by Süleyman the Great and built by the architect Sinan in 1517. After the death of Merkez Efendi, the mosque that bears his name was built in his memory between 1552-1572.

According to another story, the mosque’s construction began in 1580 and it opened to worshipers in 1582. Restored during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, the mosque still bears many of the features of the original.

Built on a rectangular plan, the mosque is made of stone. Its door and windows were made from round brick arches The tomb of Merkez Efendi and his family, a public fountain, a cistern to supply water to the mosque, and the çilehane are all found in the mosque’s wide courtyard.

The wooden mansion on the right used to be the harem building of the Merkezefendi complex. It has been restored and will most likely be used to hold cultural activities in the future. There are other aspects of the square that captivated us upon first sight such as its popular grilled meat restaurant, a Turkish bath waiting to be restored and some wooden mansions. Yet the cultural valley does not only comprise this square.

The beautiful Abdülbaki Paşa Library (Neyhane) can be found just outside of the gate; the mosque was originally a primary school and was then used as a storage facility until its restoration in 2007.

Today you will find a tearoom, a library and a cultural centre with lovely painted panels reworked on the domed ceiling.  Close by is a large wooden mansion the Merkezefendi Konağı or Mansion that was restored in 2009.

Tomb
The tomb of Merkez Efendi (1463-1552) is attached to the mosque and where many pilgrims still visit today. Süleyman the Great frequently visited his tomb which is located in the mosque’s courtyard.

Çilehane
Next to the tomb is a çilehane built in keeping with the beliefs and traditions of Merkez Efendi’s sect. Merkez Efendi was said to gone here to isolate himself from the world.

Cemetery
The Merkezefendi Cemetery (Turkish: Merkezefendi Mezarlığı) is a burial ground situated in Merkezefendi neighborhood of Zeytinburnu district on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey.
Many renowned intellectuals, writers and artists rest in this old cemetery covering an area of 27,800 m2 (299,000 sq ft). In 2007, the cemetery was fully renovated. Currently, burials are allowed only for the members of families with existing graves

The cemetery was established in the 16th century with the construction of the tomb of Merkez Efendi at this location. It was extended in the 1950s, and another cemetery, the Kozlu Cemetery was established 100 m (330 ft) far from this place.

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AHMEDİYE ÜSKÜDAR MOSQUE

Üsküdar - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'12.8"N 29°00'58.5"E / 41.020222, 29.016250



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The Ahmediye Mosque Complex on Gündoğumu Street in Üsküdar, according to its epitaph, was built on the site of the ruined Kefçe Hoca Mosque by the Dockmaster Eminzade Ahmet Ağa under Sultan Ahmet III, between 1721 and 1722. The architect Mehmet Ağa constructed this out of the rubble mosque. It underwent restorations in 1864 and 1888.

The mosque complex consisting of a mosque, a school, a library, a kiosk, cemetery and two fountains. The library, public fountain, and the mosque cemetery are preserved. The courtyard, the elegant marble fountain on the right of the portal and the comparatively fine kiosk are the fabulous fragments of this complex. The library, public fountain, and the mosque cemetery are preserved. Apart from the inscription of the fountain, according to the renovation on the ornamental slab of the fountain dated at 1863-1864, it was renovated from the spring by Tiryal Hanım, the third wife to Sultan Mahmut II. The same date the mosque was renovated by Tiryal Hanım also.

One classroom of the L shaped madrasah consisting of 11 rooms is above the gate of the dervish lodge. According to records dated to 1918, soldiers and immigrants stayed in some of the rooms of the madrasah. The madrasah’s rooms were used as a hospice by the Red Crescent (Kızılay) in 1945. Today, they are used as the office of the Üsküdar Mufti. Today, some part of the medrese is used as a Qur'an learning centre and the other part is used a a soup kitchen for the poor.

A notice indicates the Ahmediye mosque was built for Maktul Ibrahim Paşa (Grand Vizier of Sultan Süleyman) for the first time. It was built in the middle of the lodges for the Janissaries. For this reason it was also called the Orta Mosque (Middle mosque). After a Ahmet Fevzii Paşa quelled a riot of the Janissaries the mosque was often called Ahmediye. The building was ruined over time, and rebuilt in an octagonal shape in 1912. A fountain in its front was built for Damat Ibrahim Paşa, the last vizier of Sultan Ahmet III. Dome, minbar, rostrum and mahfil are made of wood. Under the mosque there is a Byzantine cellar.

Ahmet Ağa, a prominent statesman who built countless fountains throughout İstanbul, the fountain is entirely made out of marble. Its very top, referred to as the crown, features rumî motifs while its outer border is made of a repeating pattern of flowers and the inner border of stylized tulips. Underneath the crown are four couplets written in Ottoman Turkish, and an additional couplet underneath them whose second half carries the tarih, the date in which this fountain was built.

Ta'liq script was used, as was usually the case when writing poetry. The letters are illuminated with gold leaf on a green background. Ahmediye Cami, added to the Üsküdar landscape during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III when it was built in 1722 for Eminzade Hacı Ahmed Paşa. The mosque itself is not especially dramatic architecturally but there is a fine sebil (water dispensary) attached to the wall outside, and the medrese and kütüphane still survive overlooking a garden courtyard.

Situated at the corner which both streets intersect, the mosque is in square form and built by unhewn stones; the minaret on the left is put up with hewn stones. The layout is rectangular and the interior was embellished with calligraphic script.  The dome of the portico is a diognal vault, and the marble mihrab and the capitals of the columns look like a ladder upwards (mukarnas) and downwards.

The wooden exterior praying ground, which is said to have been built in 1931, was removed and hasn't been renovated since then. The exterior praying ground on the left of the portal has a mihrab. On the inscription with five calligraphic lines of the year 1722, the fact that Kepçe Hoca Mescid reduced into ruins and Hacı Ahmet Ağa built this mosque in the place is written.

The other inscriptions of the mosque complex are written in "ta'lik" (a form of Arabic writing). The dome of the mosque rests on sliced squinches, each side of the octogonal frame has a window. The mihrab is a simple niche made of plaster. the marble minber is small but is a fine work of its age.

The mosque has seven windows downstairs and eight windows upstairs. The upper window on the left of the gate is also considered to be a gate to the screened-off place from the exterior praying ground.

Roughly square in layout, it has the porticoes and cells of the medrese along two sides; the library, one entrance portal, and the mosque occupy a third side, while the fourth has the main gate complex with the dershane above and a graveyard alongside; but the whole plan is very irregular because of the alignment of streets and the rising ground.

The Madrasah placed in the courtyard of Ahmediye Mosque was built between 1721 and 1722 by Eminzade Ahmet Ağa. Religious sciences; fiqh, hadith, Koran commenting, feraiz (law of inheritance) has been taught in its classroom. There is a Turkish bath adjacent to it. It's been used as a soup kitchen for a while after Republic.

At the entrance, the medrese situated on the left of the mosque's portal has two sides and eleven rooms. In front of the rooms, a doomed and round gallery is present. Each room owns a dome, two windows opening to the gallery and the courtyard, a cabinet and a cooker. At the back of the medrese, there is a toilet and there are also nine faucets for ablution on the left of the entrance.

The building of the library whose front is covered with three galleries and a dome is situated near the second door of the mosque complex in Esvapçı Street. The capitals of the columns are rhomboid. The building has eight windows below, six windows above, a cooker and two cabinets. A toilet opening to the gallery is also available. Today a public toilet is still in use under the building.

At the end of Gündoğumu Street, in a close distance to the corner, there is another unadorned fountain without an inscription. It is said that the small section on the left of the fountain is the timekeeper's clock room.

There is covered tomb of the person that had built the mosque and the complex, Kefçe Dede's open tomb and graveyard in the courtyard of the Madrasah. The cemetry in which the gravestone of Eminzade Ahmet Ağa (1730-1731) and the tomb of Kepçe Dede is located in the northern part of the mosque.

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