The Kara Ahmed Pasha Mosque or Gazi Ahmed Pasha Mosque ( tr, Kara Ahmet Paşa Camii) is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque near the city walls in

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. It was designed by the imperial 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 (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empir ...

and completed in around 1572.

History

The mosque was commissioned by

Kara Ahmed Pasha Kara Ahmed Pasha (executed 29 September 1555) was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian origin. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire between 1553 and 1555.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971 ( ...

who was married to Fatma Sultan, a daughter of

Selim I Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite last ...

. He became

grand vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

under

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ� ...

in 1553 but was executed by strangulation two years later in 1555. The mosque was planned in around 1555 but only constructed between 1565 and 1571–72 after the pasha had been fully exonerated.

Architecture

The

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

is surrounded by the cells of a ''medrese'' and a ''dershane'', or main classroom. Attractive apple green and yellow tiles grace the porch, while blue and white ones are found on the east wall of the prayer hall. These tiles date from the mid 16th century. The diameter dome is supported by six red granite columns. Of the three galleries, the wooden ceiling under the west one is elaborately painted in red, blue, gold and black. The mosque is last imperial building in Istanbul to be decorated with expressly designed ''

cuerda seca The term "cuerda" (Spanish for ''rope'') refers to a unit of measurement in some Spanish-speaking regions, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and Paraguay. In Puerto Rico, the term cuerda (and "Spanish acre"List of Friday mosques designed by Mimar Sinan This is a list of the Friday mosques for which the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan claimed responsibility in his autobiographies. Of the 77 mosques in the list, 39 are in Istanbul. Background Mimar Sinan was appointed to the post of chief Otto ...

References

Sources

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External links

Kara Ahmed Pasa Kulliyesi
Archnet
Photographs of the mosque taken by Dick Osseman
{{Mosques in Turkey Religious buildings and structures completed in 1572 Mimar Sinan buildings Ottoman mosques in Istanbul 1554 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 16th-century mosques