Nallı Masjid ( tr, Nallı Mescit), also known as ''İmam Ali Mescidi'' or ''Babıali Mescidi'', is a late 19th-century small mosque located at Ankara Street northwest of the historic

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

building (which is the Istanbul Governor's Office today), at

Cağaloğlu Cağaloğlu is a quarter located in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. Much of the publishing industry in Istanbul is located in Cağaloğlu. It is also famous for its ancient Turkish bath, hamam, or Turkish bath, known as the Cağaloğlu Hama ...

quarter of

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 old

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.

History

It was built by İmam Ali Efendi, a relative of Ottoman religious scholar, poet and mystic saint Akshamsaddin (1389–1459) during the

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its he ...

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 ...

(reigned 1444–1446, 1451–1481) in the 15th century. Originally, the mosque was situated within the yard of the Sublime Porte Building with one side on Ankara Street. It came to appearance when the traffic on the Ankara Street became limited due to the construction of

Marmaray The Marmaray () is a intercontinental commuter rail line in Istanbul, Turkey. A rail tunnel running under the Bosphorus strait was connected to an upgraded version of the old suburban train service (known as the banliyö), allowing train ...

. İmam Ali Efendi's grave is found behind the close Cevdet Pasha Library building. It was turned into a mosque after Grand vizier

Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha (1689 – 13 August 1758) was an Ottoman statesman and military leader who served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire three times. Family His father, Nuh, was a Venetian convert to Islam who worked in Constantinople ( ...

's (1689–1758) brother Feyzullah Efendi built a

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 ...

. The building burnt down during the Fire of Sublime Porte ( tr, Bab-ı Ali Yangını) in the 1800s. According to the inscription calligraphed by Mustafa İzzet Efendi, the mosque was rebuilt in 1869. A second inscription by Sami Efendi states its restoration in 1902.

Architecture

The mosque is designed in eclectic architectural style and some details are used which are normally seen in the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

architecture. It is painted today in red and white, although the original color was yellow and beige. It has a square-plan of dimensions. It has one dome sitting on an octagonal haunch. The mosque's only

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 ...

was built in

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitr ...

, and has one balcony. The mosque takes its name "Nallı" (literally:

horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human ...

) from reliefs of horseshoe figures found on the minaret. Istanbul asv2021-11 img35 Nallı Mosque.jpg, Interior view Istanbul asv2021-11 img34 Nallı Mosque.jpg, 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 ...

IstanbulGovernor'sOffice (3).jpg, Nallı Masjid (left) next to the Istanbul Governor's Office, former headquarters of the

Ottoman Government The Ottoman Empire developed over the years as a despotism with the Sultan as the supreme ruler of a centralized government that had an effective control of its provinces, officials and inhabitants. Wealth and rank could be inherited but were ...

, called the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nalli Mashid Ottoman mosques in Istanbul Fatih Mosques completed in 1869 1869 establishments in the Ottoman Empire