
Sekbanbaşı Mosque was a mosque located in the
Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern-day
Istanbul). It was originally a
Byzantine church. According to the writings of Hafiz Hüseyin al-Ayvansarayî (''Hadîkatü’l-cevâmi‘''), the original Byzantine church had been converted by İbrahim Ağa (died 1496–7), the lieutenant of the Ottoman
sekban regiments (''sekbanbaşı''). The building was located in Kendir Sokağı, in the Kırkçeşme quarter (
Fatih district), near the ancient
aqueduct of Roman Emperor Valens.
In 1838, the mosque was damaged by a fire, but underwent some restorations. In 1918, during the final few years of the
Ottoman Empire, the mosque and the surrounding neighborhood were once again hit by a fire. This time, the mosque did not undergo reparations and was gradually abandoned. The heavily damaged fundament of the mosque was then completely torn down in 1943 as the
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
government wanted to enlarge the Atatürk Boulevard. In 1954, the soil on which the mosque stood was completely cleared as apartment blocks were being built on it. Today, nothing extant of the mosque remains. However, just prior to its complete demolition, a hurried excavation was caried out by
Semavi Eyice, which unearthed some of the substructures of the Sekbanbaşı Mosque. These substructures were examined and surveyed on the spot.
References
Sources
*
{{coord missing, Turkey
Mosques converted from churches in Istanbul
Demolished buildings and structures in Turkey
Fatih
Churches and monasteries of Constantinople
15th-century mosques
Ottoman mosques in Istanbul
Former mosques in Turkey