Altunizade Mosque (), also known as İsmail Zühtü Pasha Mosque () is a 19th-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 ...
located in
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.
The mosque is situated in the
Altunizade
Altunizade is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Üsküdar, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 13,459 (2022). It is located on the Asian side of the city.
The location takes its name from Altunizade İsmail Zühtü Pas ...
neighborhood of
Üsküdar
Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...
district in Istanbul. It was commissioned by
Altunizade İsmail Zühtü Pasha
Altunizade is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Üsküdar, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 13,459 (2022). It is located on the Asian side of the city.
The location takes its name from Altunizade İsmail Zühtü Pas ...
(1806–1887), who is buried in a protected place in the mosque's yard. The mosque was built in 1865.
It is probably the last example of
Ottoman architecture
Ottoman architecture is an architectural style or tradition that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century an ...
mosques in the Anatolian part of Istanbul. Initially, the mosque was part of a social complex () consisting of an
infant school
An infant school is a type of school or school department for young children. Today, the term is mainly used in England and Wales. In the Republic of Ireland, the first two years of primary school are called infant classes. Infant schools were ...
, a
Turkish bath
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 ...
, a time-keeping office for prayer, a fountain, lodgings for the
imam
Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
, the worship leader, and the
muezzin
The muezzin (; ), also spelled mu'azzin, is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque from the minaret. The muezzin ...
, the caller of prayer, a bakery and some shops. However, only some shops of the social complex of the mosque are preserved. The mosque is today in a very good state.
The mosque was designed in
Baroque Revival architecture
The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque (or Second Empire architecture in France and Wilhelminism in Germany), was an architectural style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term is used to describe architecture and architectu ...
,
which can be identified at least by its large windows. Mosques built of this style are examples of the last Ottoman Empire era. It is situated in a small courtyard, which has three gates. An inscription is found above the biggest gate. Another inscription is attached to the outside of the wall facing
Kaaba
The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...
in
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. The
narthex
The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
was constructed as a covered place. Three doors in the narthex, one big and two small ones, lead to the sanctuary. An ornamented small
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".
...
, a niche, is built in the wall of the narthex for prayer during the mosque's closed time. Two wooden staircases flanking the narthex lead to women's and muezzin section. The quadratic-plan mosque was constructed in limestone ashlar. Its inside is plastered. The sanctuary's walls are ornamented with hand-carved figures. The mosque has one dome,
which is supported by four arches carried by four columns in the mosque's corners. The dome's inner surface is sliced in 16 zones by eight pieces of two designs. The center of the dome is blue colored to draw attention, and contains a
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
verse. The marble
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 ...
is designed in the form of a drinking glass as seen in
Hırka-i Şerif Mosque
Hırka-i Şerif Mosque (, ) is a historic mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. It takes its name from a relic, the mantle of prophet Muhammad, which is preserved in the mosque.
Mosque
Hırka-i Şerif Mosque (literally "Mosque of the Blessed Mantle") is s ...
. The windows are unusual big as an example of the Baroque Revival architectural style. The mosque has one minaret with one balcony.
It rises up on a quadratic base. The minaret's spire is made of stone in contrast to the lead sheet covered spires seen in the classical Ottoman mosque architecture. The spire is designed in the form of a
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 ...
's
turban
A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند, ''dolband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...
. A decorative line of stars is found in the mid of the minaret. In the lower row, there are three big windows at the side walls and two big ones flank the wall of mihrab. In the upper row, there are again three windows on each side, however, two small windows flank the big one in the middle.
References
{{Ottoman architecture
Baroque Revival architecture in Turkey
Ottoman mosques in Istanbul
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1865
Üsküdar
Mosques completed in the 1860s
1865 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Baroque mosques of the Ottoman Empire