The Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque (Turkish: ' Sokollu Pasa Camii') is an Ottoman mosque located in the Kadirga neighborhood of the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey.

 

History
The Sokoullu Mehmet Pasha Mosque was designed by Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan for Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet Pasha (husband of one of the granddaughters of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Princess Esmahan. Its building took place from 1571 to 1572. The mosque is official named after Princess Esmahan, but is more commonly known for its association with her far more famous husband.

Exterior
The mosque is noted for its architecturally challenging location on a steep slope. Sinan resolved this issue by fronting the mosque with a two-story a courtyard. The bottom story (now in ruins) was divided into shops, whose rents were intended to help support the upkeep of mosque. The upper story with an open colonnaded courtyard had the spaces between the columns on three sides walled off to form small rooms, each with a small window, fireplace and niche to store bedding, forming the living accommodations for a madrasah. Instruction for students was given in the prayer hall itself, or in the dershane, a large domed room over the western staircase. The fourth side of the courtyard is the mosque itself, which is designed as a hexagon inscribed in a rectangle, topped by a dome with four small semi-domes in the corners. [3]

Interior
The interior of the Sokulu Mehet Pasha Mosque is famous for its large quantities of exquisite İznik tiles, set in a very wide variety of blue and green floral designs, with panels of calligraphy in white letters on a blue field. The interior columns make use of polychrome marble. The minbar is made of white marble with a conical cap, sheathed in turquoise tiles, which also frame the mihrab. The windows above the mithrab are stained glass. Above the door, framed by a gold design, is a fragment of the Kaaba in Mecca; other fragments of this black stone are in the minbar and mihrab.

Many places of tourist interest are concentrated in Sultanahmet, heart of the Imperial Centre of the Ottoman Empire. The most important places in this area, all of which are described in detail in the "Places of Interest" section, are Topkapi Palace, Aya Sofia, Sultan Ahmet Camii (the Blue Mosque), the Hippodrome, Kapali Carsi (Covered Market), Yerebatan Sarnici and the Museum of Islamic Art. In addition to this wonderful selection of historical and architectural sites, Sultanahmet also has a large concentration of carpet and souvenir shops, hotels and guesthouses, cafes, bars and restaurants, and travel agents.


 

This mosque was built by Sultan Ahmet I during 1609-1616 in the square carrying his name in Istanbul. The architect is Sedefkar Mehmet Aga. It is the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets. The mosque is 64 x 72 m in dimensions. The central dome is 43 m in height and is 33.4 m in diameter. 260 windows surround the mosque. Due to its beautiful blue, green and white tilings it has been named the "Blue Mosque" by Europeans. The inscriptions were made by Seyyid Kasim Gubari.