The large Fatih Mosque ( tr, Fatih Camii, "Conqueror's Mosque" in
English) is an
Ottoman mosque off Fevzi Paşa Caddesi in the
Fatih
Fatih () is a district of and a municipality (''belediye'') in Istanbul, Turkey, and home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the governor's office, police headquarters, metropolitan municipality and tax office) but not the co ...
district of
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, Turkey. The original mosque was constructed between 1463 and 1470 on the site of the
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...
. Seriously damaged in the
1766 earthquake, it was rebuilt in 1771 to a different design. It is named after the Ottoman sultan
Mehmed the Conqueror
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
, known in Turkish as ''Fatih Sultan Mehmed'', who
conquered
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
in 1453.
The
Sahn-ı Seman Medrese The Sahn-ı Seman Medrese or Semâniyye (meaning 'eight courtyards') was a 15th-century Ottoman medrese (madrasa) complex in Istanbul, Turkey, which was part of the Fatih Mosque. It was one of the highest educational facilities for various scienc ...
, once an important center for the study of theology, law, medicine, astronomy, physics and mathematics, formed part of the Fatih Mosque. It was founded by the Turkic astronomer
Ali Qushji
Ala al-Dīn Ali ibn Muhammed (1403 – 16 December 1474), known as Ali Qushji ( Ottoman Turkish : علی قوشچی, ''kuşçu'' – falconer in Turkish; Latin: ''Ali Kushgii'') was a Timurid theologian, jurist, astronomer, mathematician ...
who had been invited by Mehmed to his court in Istanbul.
The mosque complex was completely restored in 2009 and again ten years later. It reopened to worshippers in 2021.
History
The Fatih Mosque complex was a religious and social building of unprecedented size and complexity built in Istanbul between 1463–1470 by order of
Fatih Sultan Mehmed.
[Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, Gábor Ágoston,Bruce Alan Masters, page 216] It was built on the site of the former
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...
, which had been in poor condition since the
Fourth Crusade, and was demolished to make way for the mosque.
The Church was the burial place of the Roman Emperor Constantine—before the construction of the mosque, his sarcophagus was placed in the middle of twelve other sarchophagi representing the twelve
apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
, in the symbolic place of
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religi ...
.
The Fatih Mosque was the first monumental project in the Ottoman imperial architectural tradition.
It was built by the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
architect
Atik Sinan
Sinan-i Atik, also known as Azadlı Sinan, and Atik Sinan (meaning Sinan the Freedman; ''azadlı'' shows that ''atik'' does not mean "old", and is not used to distinguish him from Koca Mimar Sinan Agha), was an Ottoman architect for Sultan Mehmed ...
[Van Millingen, Alexander (1912). Byzantine Churches of Constantinople. London: MacMillan & Co., p. 276.] who should not be confused with the more famous Ottoman architect,
Mimar Sinan
Mimar Sinan ( ota, معمار سينان, translit=Mi'mâr Sinân, , ) ( 1488–1490 – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman architect ( tr, l ...
.

The original complex included includes eight
medreses, a library, a hospital (''
darüşşifa
A bimaristan (; ), also known as ''dar al-shifa'' (also ''darüşşifa'' in Turkish) or simply maristan, is a hospital in the historic Islamic world.
Etymology
''Bimaristan'' is a Persian word ( ''bīmārestān'') meaning "hospital", with ' ...
)'', a dervish inn (''taphane''),
a caravanserai,
a market, a
hamam
A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...
, a primary school (''mektep'' ) a public kitchen (''
imaret
Imaret, sometimes also known as a ''darüzziyafe'', is one of a few names used to identify the public soup kitchens built throughout the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the 19th centuries. These public kitchens were often part of a larger complex ...
'') for poor and a collection of 280 shops.
Various tombs (
türbes) were added at a later date. The original complex covered an almost square area of extending along the
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...
side of Fevzi Paşa Caddesi.
The first mosque was badly damaged in the
1509 earthquake.
After that it was repaired, but was then damaged again by earthquakes in 1557 and 1754 and repaired yet again. It was then completely destroyed by
an earthquake on 22 May 1766 when the main dome collapsed and the walls were irreparably damaged.
Commissioned by Sultan
Mustafa III
Mustafa III (; ''Muṣṭafā-yi sālis''; 28 January 1717 – 21 January 1774) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1757 to 1774. He was a son of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–30), and his consort Mihrişah Kadın. He was succeeded by ...
, the current mosque (designed on a completely different plan) was built between 1767 and 1771
by the architect,
Mehmet Tahir Ağa
Mehmed (modern Turkish: Mehmet) is the most common Bosnian and Turkish form of the Arabic name Muhammad ( ar, محمد) (''Muhammed'' and ''Muhammet'' are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of M ...
.
Architecture
Exterior

The first Fatih Mosque had one central dome supported by a single semi-dome of the same diameter on the qibla side and suspended on four arches. its dome was 26 meter in diameter.
The second
Baroque mosque built after the 1766 earthquake had a square plan. It has one central dome supported by four semi-domes.
Only the courtyard, main entrance portal and lower portions of the minarets survive from the original construction.
Interior
The present interior of the Fatih Mosque is essentially a copy of earlier designs invented by
Sinan
Sinan (Arabic: سنان ''sinān'') is a name found in Arabic and Early Arabic, meaning ''spearhead''. The name may also be related to the Ancient Greek name Sinon. It was used as a male given name.
Etymology
The word is possibly stems from th ...
re-used repeatedly by himself and his successors throughout Istanbul (this technique is emulative of the Hagia Sophia). The 26 meter diameter center dome is supported by four semi-domes on each axis supported by four large marble columns. There are two
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally ...
s each with twin galleries. The
calligraphy within the mosque and the
mimbar
A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, '' khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and ...
exhibit a
Baroque influence, but the white tiles lack the splendor of the
İznik
İznik is a town and an administrative district in the Province of Bursa, Turkey. It was historically known as Nicaea ( el, Νίκαια, ''Níkaia''), from which its modern name also derives. The town lies in a fertile basin at the eastern end ...
tiles used in other mosques such as the
Rüstem Pasha Mosque
The Rüstem Pasha Mosque ( tr, Rüstem Paşa Camii) is an Ottoman mosque located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey, near the Spice Bazaar. Named afte ...
.
The
mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the '' qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla ...
survived from the original construction.
Complex
As with other imperial mosques in Istanbul, the Fatih Mosque was designed as a ''
kulliye'', or complex with adjacent structures to service both religious and cultural needs.
To the north and south of the mosque are the
Sahn-ı Seman, eight great medreses, four on each side. These buildings are symmetrical, and each contains 18 cells for four students and a ''dershane''. Annexes behind the medrese itself were lost to road construction. The medreses provided for about a thousand students, making it a large university for its time.

The dervish inn, outside the southeast corner of the mosque precincts, has a beautiful courtyard supported by 16 different columns of
verd antique
Verd antique (obsolete French, from Italian, ''verde antico'', "ancient green"), also called verde antique, ''marmor thessalicum'', or Ophite, is a serpentinite breccia popular since ancient times as a decorative facing stone. It is a dark, du ...
and granite, probably salvaged from the Church of the Holy Apostles.
Facing the dervish inn is the large Baroque ''türbe'' of Sultan
Mahmud II
Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839.
His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...
's mother,
Nakşidil Sultan
ota, نقش دل سلطان
, birth_name =
, birth_date = 1761
, birth_place = Georgia
, death_date = 28 July 1817 (aged 55-56) (Even though her date date was given as August 22nd 1817 in some sources, this information is incorrect, ...
(1761-1817).

The graveyard beside the mosque contains the tombs (''
türbe
''Türbe'' is the Turkish word for " tomb". In Istanbul it is often used to refer to the mausolea of the Ottoman sultans and other nobles and notables.
The word is derived from the Arabic ''turbah'' (meaning ''"soil/ground/earth"''), whic ...
s'') of Sultan
Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
and his wife
Gülbahar Hatun. Both were reconstructed after the earthquake. The ''türbe'' of the Conqueror has a lavishly decorated interior and is a popular site for official ceremonies. It was customary for new sultans to visit the tomb immediately after being invested with the
Sword of Osman at
Eyüp Sultan Mosque
The Eyüp Sultan Mosque ( tr, Eyüp Sultan Camii) is in the Eyüp district of Istanbul, outside the city walls and near the Golden Horn. On a much older site, the present building dates from the beginning of the 19th century. The mosque complex ...
. Gulbahar's ''türbe'' is more simple, with classic lines, and may closely resemble the original. The graveyard also contains the last resting places of many important state officials, including field marshal
Gazi Osman Pasha whose tomb was designed by
Kemaleddin Bey. The distinguished Ottoman scholar and university professor
Halil İnalcık
Halil İnalcık (7 September 1916 – 25 July 2016) was a Turkish historian. His highly influential research centered on social and economic approaches to the Ottoman Empire. His academic career started at Ankara University, where he completed hi ...
was buried here in 2016.
On one side of the mosque and connected to it is the domed Carullah Efendi Library which was built in 1724. One of its doors opens onto the street, while the other two open onto the inner courtyard of the mosque. The library is undergoing repairs, and the books are under protection at the Suleymaniye Library.
The
caravanserai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes coverin ...
was repaired in the 1980s and combined with new shops to begin functioning as a workplace. The hospital, market, kitchens and hamam of the original complex have been lost.
File:Fatih Mosque 2504.jpg, Fatih Mosque west side
File:Fatih Mosque 9248.jpg, Fatih Mosque interior
File:Fatih Mosque 9254.jpg, Fatih Mosque ceiling
File:Fatih Mosque 4889.jpg, Fatih Mosque interior
File:Fatih Mosque 4897.jpg, Fatih Mosque Domes
File:Fatih Mosque 9260.jpg, Fatih Mosque decoration
File:Istanbul Fatih Mosque dec 2018 9499.jpg, Fatih Sultan Mosque fish eye
File:Fatih Mosque 9256.jpg, Fatih Mosque group
File:Fatih Mosque 9276.jpg, Fatih Mosque courtyard
File:Fatih Cami on a beautiful spring day.jpg, Fatih Mosque courtyard
Influences
According to the Turkish historian
Mehmet Aga-Oglu
Mehmet Aga-Oglu (24 August 1896 – 4 July 1949), was a Azerbaijani-Turkish Islamic art historian.
Born in Erivan, Russian Caucasia (today Armenia), Mehmet earned a doctorate history, philosophy, and Islamic languages from the University of Mosc ...
, the mosque is a representation of
Islamic Persian medresse architecture and not Byzantine church architecture.
[David Gebhard, ''The Problem of Space in the Ottoman Mosque'', ''The Art Bulletin 45'', no. 3 (1963): 272.] This opinion is supported by other Turkish academics that state Ottoman architecture is an extension of "Near Eastern architectural tradition".
See also
*
List of mosques
This is an incomplete list of some of the more famous mosques around the world.
List
See also
* Islamic architecture
* List of largest mosques
* List of the oldest mosques in the world
** List of mosques that are mentioned by name in the Q ...
*
Ottoman architecture
Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine a ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Images of the Fatih MosqueFatih Camii(Turkish)
Over 90 pictures of the mosque and tombs
{{Authority control
Mosques completed in 1470
Ottoman mosques in Istanbul
Mosques completed in 1767
Mosque buildings with domes
Fatih
Buildings of Mehmed the Conqueror
1767 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
1470s establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Sunni mosques in Turkey