Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque ( tr, Mesih Mehmed Paşa Camii) is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque 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, ...

. It was commissioned by one of

Murad III Murad III ( ota, مراد ثالث, Murād-i sālis; tr, III. Murad; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Saf ...

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 ...

s, Mesih Mehmed Pasha, and 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 ...

. The mosque was completed in 1585–86.

History

The mosque was commissioned in 1584 by the

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

Mesih Mehmed Pasha while he held the post of third vizier. Mesih Pasha had worked for nearly six years in Cairo as the governor-general of Egypt before returning to Istanbul in 1581. He became second vizier in July 1584 and then grand vizier for the four-month period from 1 December 1585 until 15 April 1586. He died in 1589 and was buried by his mosque. It is unclear to what extent the imperial architect

was involved in the design of the mosque. Sinan went on a ''

hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

'' to Mecca in 1584 and during his absence his place was taken by the royal architect Mehmed Subaşı. Sinan included the mosque in the list of his works in a draft of his autobiography (''Tuḥfetü’l-miʿmārīn'') but omitted it from a later version (''Teẕkiretü’l-ebniye''). The foundation inscription on the mosque gives the completion date as AH 994 (1585-86). The triple water fountain on the southwest corner of the perimeter wall has an inscription with the same date. The fountain was refurbished in 1817–18. In 1587 Mesih Pasha obtained permission to be buried next to his mosque. He died in 1589.

Architecture

Exterior

The mosque is built on a sloping site that is higher on the eastern side. To create a level surface the western side of the building rests on a vaulted substructure that accommodates a series of shops. To the north of the mosque is a rectangular forecourt surrounded on three sides by an arcade with pillars that support small domes. The entrance from the street below is through a domed gatehouse at the side. Beneath the northern section of the arcade are a series of taps for the ritual ablutions. Instead of the usual fountain, at the centre of the forecourt is the grave of Mesih Pasha. The north façade of the mosque has a double portico with five arches. The columns of the inner portico support five small domes. The lead covered main dome has a diameter of . It rests on a drum with 24 windows that is encircled by eight stabilizing turrets that sit on the internal piers. There are also five half-domes that form the

exedra An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...

of the ''mihrab'' and the exedras at the four corners. The aisles at each side of the mosque are covered by three small domes. The windows on the lower levels are grouped by large framing arches. File:Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque 2514.jpg, Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque from street File:Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque 2536.jpg, Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque son cemaat area File:Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque 9152.jpg, Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque interior with entrance File:Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque 9151.jpg, Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque interior towards entrance File:Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque 2533.jpg, Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque interior File:Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque 2534.jpg, Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque dome File:Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque 2530.jpg, Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque tiles File:Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque 2527.jpg, Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque tiles File:Istanbul Mesih Pasha Mosque 2015 9160.jpg, Mesih Pasha Mosque tiles

References

Sources

External links