The Zeynep Sultan Mosque (in
Turkish Zeynep Sultan Camii) is a mosque built in 1769 by
Ayazma Mosque's architect
Mehmet Tahir Ağa for
Ahmed III
Ahmed III ( ota, احمد ثالث, ''Aḥmed-i sālis'') was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). His mother was Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at H ...
's daughter
Zeynep Sultan. It evokes Byzantine churches because of its architectural style and materials that were used in its construction.
History
The mosque is on Alemdar Caddesi (Street) in Istanbul, across the street from
Gülhane Park
Gülhane Park ( tr, Gülhane Parkı, "Rosehouse Park"; from Persian: ''Gulkhāna'', "house of flowers") is a historical urban park in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey; it is adjacent to and on the grounds of the Topkapı Palace. Th ...
, not far from the
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
, and visible from the
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
that circulates the city. In the back side of the mosque, there is a building, which was once used as ''
mektep'' and now being used as primary school. The part once used as
sebil
A sebil or sabil ( ar, سبيل, sabīl ; Turkish: ''sebil'') is a small kiosk in the Islamic architectural tradition where water is freely dispensed to members of the public by an attendant behind a grilled window. The term is sometimes also ...
is now closed. In front of the mosque, there is a fountain, which was actually part of
Abdul-Hamid I's külliye. The fountain was carried here in 1920s when 4. Vakıf Han's construction in
Eminönü
Eminönü is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is connected to Karaköy (historic G ...
. The "Osmanlı Araştırmaları Vakfı" ( en, Foundation for Research on the Ottoman Empire is above the mosque.
Ottoman military hero
Alemdar Mustafa Pasha
Alemdar Mustafa Pasha (also called Bayraktar Mustafa Pasha; born 1755, died 15 November 1808) was an Ottoman military commander and a Grand Vizier born in Hotin (modern Khotyn) in the then Ottoman territory of Ukraine in 1765. Of Albanian ori ...
's grave is in hazîre
[hazîre: Grave part bordered with railings in places like mosque, tomb, dervish lodge etc.] of the mosque and due to road construction Zeynep Sultan's corpse in the cellar is waiting for the time of her new tomb's construction. The grave of
Melek Mehmet Pasha (in office 1792-1794), who was
Selim III
Selim III ( ota, سليم ثالث, Selim-i sâlis; tr, III. Selim; was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, the Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa ...
's
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 ...
and Zeynep Sultan's second husband, is also in the hazîre of the mosque. From her first Marriage she got the son
Mahmud Dramali Pasha
Dramalı Mahmud Pasha, ( Turkish: ''Dramalı Mahmut Paşa''; c. 1770 in Istanbul – 26 October 1822, in Corinth) was an Ottoman
Albanian statesman and military leader, and a pasha, and served as governor (''wali'') of Larissa, Drama, and the M ...
.
File:Zeynep Sultan Mosque 5818.jpg, Zeynep Sultan Mosque entrance
File:Zeynep Sultan Mosque 5823.jpg, Zeynep Sultan Mosque side and minaret
File:Zeynep Sultan Mosque 2282.jpg, Zeynep Sultan mosque and sebil
File:Zeynep Sultan Mosque 5808.jpg, Zeynep Sultan Mosque sebil nearby
See also
*
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 architecture, Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influen ...
Notes
External links
Travel web site listing mosques in IstanbulPicture gallery of the mosque
{{Authority control
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1769
Ottoman mosques in Istanbul
18th-century mosques