The Yavuz Selim Mosque, also known as the Selim I Mosque and the Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque () is a 16th-century

Ottoman imperial mosque The list below contains some of the most important mosques in modern-day Turkey that were commissioned by the members of Ottoman imperial family. Some of these major mosques are also known as a selatin mosque, imperial mosque, or sultanic mosque ...

located at the top of the 5th hill 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 ...

, in the neighborhood of Çukurbostan, overlooking the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...

. Its size and geographic position make it a familiar landmark on the Istanbul skyline.

History

The Yavuz Selim Mosque is the second oldest extant imperial mosque in Istanbul. It was commissioned by the Ottoman sultan

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

in memory of his father

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

who died in 1520. The architect was Alaüddin (Acem Alisi). The mosque was completed in 1527/8. Attempts have been made to associate the structure with the famous imperial architect

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...

, but there is no supporting documentary evidence, and the date of the mosque is too early. However, one of the ''

türbe ''Türbe'' refers to a Muslim mausoleum, tomb or grave often in the Turkish-speaking areas and for the mausolea of Ottoman sultans, nobles and notables. A typical türbe is located in the grounds of a mosque or complex, often endowed by the ...

'' in the garden of the mosque is a work of Sinan (see below).

Architecture

Exterior

The mosque was built on a terrace overlooking the Cistern of Aspar, the largest of the three Roman reservoirs in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. The large courtyard (''avlu'') has a colonnaded

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

with columns of various types of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. The mosque has panels of coloured tiles that were decorated using the ''

cuerda seca __NOTOC__ ''Cuerda seca'' (Spanish for "dry cord") is a technique used when applying coloured ceramic glaze, glazes to ceramic surfaces. Description When different coloured glazes are applied to a ceramic surface, the glazes have a tendency to ...

'' technique. These are similar to the lunette panels above the windows on either side of the fireplace in the Circumcision Room (Sünnet Odası) of the

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...

and were almost certainly made by the same group of Iranian craftsmen working for the Ottoman court. The mosque is flanked by twin

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 ...

Interior

The interior plan of the mosque is a simple square room, on each side, covered by a shallow dome in height. As with the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

, the dome is much shallower than a full hemisphere. The windows are decorated with

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

panels of polychrome ''

'' tiles. To the north and south of the main room, domed passages led to four small domed rooms, which were intended to function as hospices for traveling

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

es.

Tombs

Located in the garden behind the mosque and overlooking the Golden Horn is the ''

'' of

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

which was completed in 1523. The building is externally octagonal, and has a porch decorated with panels of tiles of unique design. A second octagonal ''türbe'' with a long inscription carved into the stonework of the exterior contains the tombs of three sons of

(Mahmud, Murad and Abdullah) and two daughters of Selim I ( Hafize Hafsa and Hatice). It dates from 1556, and is attributed to

. The third ''türbe'' in the garden is that of Sultan

Abdülmecid I Abdülmecid I (, ; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories. Abdülmecid's ...

, built shortly before his death in 1861.

Gallery

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Sultan Selim Külliyesi
Archnet.
Photographs of the mosque taken by Dick Osseman
* Arkitera.com

{{Ottoman architecture Religious buildings and structures completed in 1528 Mosques completed in the 1520s Mimar Sinan buildings Ottoman mosques in Istanbul Madrasas in Turkey 1528 establishments in the Ottoman Empire