Fatih Mosque

Istanbul, Turkey

The first monumental project in the Ottoman imperial architectural tradition, the Fatih Mosque complex was built in Istanbul between 1463-1470 by the Greek architect Atik Sinan, by the order of Fatih Sultan Mehmed II, on the site of the former Church of the Holy Apostles, which had served as Byzantine Imperial burial place for one thousand years and had been in poor condition since the Fourth Crusade. The original complex included a set of well-planned buildings constructed around the mosque. They include eight medrese, library, hospital, hospice, caravanserai, market, hamam, primary school and public kitchen (imaret) which served food to the poor. The original mosque was badly damaged in the 1509 earthquake, after that it was repaired, but was then damaged again by earthquakes in 1557 and 1754 and repaired yet again. It was then completely destroyed by an earthquake on 22 May 1766 when the main dome collapsed and the walls were irreparably damaged. The current mosque (designed on a completely different plan) was completed in 1771 under Sultan Mustafa III by the architect, Mimar Mehmet Tahir. In the graveyard, on the kiblah side behind the mosque, are the türbe of Sultan Mehmet II and his wife Gulbahar Hatun. Both were reconstructed after the earthquake. The türbe of the Conqueror is very baroque with a lavishly decorated interior.