The Mahmut Pasha Mosque () is a 15th-century Ottoman

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

near the Grand Bazaar in the

Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

district of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

History

The mosque was commissioned by the Greek Mahmud Pasha, the

grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

of Sultan

Mehmet II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

, who converted to Islam. Completed in 1464, it was one of the first buildings within the city walls built specifically as a mosque. Up to that time, most of the early mosques in the city were converted

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

churches. The ''

waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...

'' ( endowment) of the mosque and its associated charitable buildings was quite extensive, covering a number of different buildings across the surrounding district. This suggests that Mehmet II may have entrusted Mahmud Pasha with developing this district near the commercial heart of the city, just east and north of the area which would become the Grand Bazaar. The mosque was thus the centrepiece of this development. The mosque was completely restored and reopened in 2021. Restoration of the tomb was ongoing in 2022.

Architecture

The mosque is designed in the Bursa style with the main space covered by a number of identical domes. This is an early Ottoman style which was soon abandoned in favour of a single large dome with smaller extensions. In this case, the main space is a 2x1 rectangle covered with two identical domes, each with a diameter of . The mihrab and minbar are located on the short side of the rectangle. The areas on either side are each covered by a simple sloping roof. The entrance to the mosque is similar to that of a Byzantine church, with an outer porch (''exonarthex'') and an inner porch (''esonarthex''), each covered by five small domes. The columns holding up the outer porch were originally marble but were replaced by the present stone ones in the 18th century after damage by an earthquake. The mahfil was added in the 19th century, and the

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', 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'' wall". ...

and

minbar 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 le ...

replaced; as a result, they are in a different style to the rest of the mosque. The octagonal mausoleum (''türbe'') of Mahmud Paşa in the grounds of the mosque is dated AH 878 (1473-74 CE) on an inscription at the entrance. Its exterior is decorated with

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

s forming

geometric patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstraction, abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometry, geometric shapes and ...

turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue. The robi ...

and

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

colours, a feature which is unique in Ottoman architecture in Istanbul. DSC04132 Istanbul - Mehmut Pasha Camii - Foto G. Dall'Orto 25-5-2006.jpg, View of the

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

of the mosque DSC04130 Istanbul - Mehmut Pasha Camii - Foto G. Dall'Orto 25-5-2006.jpg, Courtyard of the mosque Mahmut Pasha Mosque 4777.jpg, ''

Muqarnas Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...

'' and

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

over the mosque's entrance portal Istanbul asv2021-11 img39 Mahmut Pasha Mosque.jpg, Mahmut Pasha Mosque interior Mahmut Pasha turbesi DSCF1268.jpg, The ''türbe'' (mausoleum) of Mahmud Pasha, behind the mosque

Other buildings of the complex

Like many other Ottoman mosques, the Mahmut Pasha Mosque was part of a larger charitable complex, a ''

külliye A külliye () is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf (charitable foundation) and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa (clinic), kitchens ...

,'' composed of multiple buildings which were governed together through a ''

'' foundation (). The ''külliye'' of Mahmut Pasha included, in addition to the mosque and the mausoleum, a

hammam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, 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 from the model ...

( public bathhouse), a ''han'' or

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

, a

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

, an

imaret Imaret, sometimes also known as a ''darüzziyafe'', is one of several 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 comp ...

(

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to Hunger, hungry and homeless people, usually for no price, cost, or sometimes at a below-market price (such as coin Donation, donations). Frequently located in Low i ...

), a ''mahkeme'' (

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

), and a ''

mekteb A kuttab ( ''kuttāb'', plural: ''kataatiib'', ) or maktab () is a type of elementary school in the Muslim world. Though the ''kuttab'' was primarily used for teaching children in reading, writing, grammar, and Islamic studies, such as memorizing ...

'' (

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

). The waqf also specified the management of 27 houses, about 100 shops, and various other lodgings, storehouses, and stables, making this ''waqf'' foundation particularly wealthy for its kind. Of these, only the hammam and the caravanserai, and one section of the madrasa, have survived to the present day. The various buildings were scattered in different locations across the surrounding district. The revenues generated by the hammam and the caravanserai contributed to the upkeep and operations of the mosque. The

of the complex, located northwest of the mosque, was completed in 1466 CE, making it one of the oldest hammams in the city. Its architecture and layout is highly similar to the Tahtakale Hamam built by Mehmet II slightly earlier. It was originally a double hammam, meaning it had separate (but adjacent) facilities for men and for women, but the women's section was demolished at some later date. The hammam was also damaged by fire in 1755 and was restored in 1953. It served as a storage depot for a time but now serves as a shopping centre. Kurkcu han DSCF1362

The caravanserai of the Mahmut Pasha complex, located north of the hammam, is known today as the Kürkçü Han ("Caravanserai of the

Fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

Merchants"). It was completed in 1467 and is the oldest surviving caravanserai in Istanbul, albeit with some modifications and restorations over time. The building contributed to the revenues of the mosque's ''waqf'' foundation by collecting

rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

from the shops and offices which occupied its many rooms (which at one point numbered 167). The caravanserai is still used by shops and businesses today.

History

Architecture

Other buildings of the complex

See also

References

Further reading