Gül Mosque
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- Changes the building has undergone since its construction
- It is recorded that it was converted into a mosque in 1490.
- It was damaged in the earthquake of 1509 and protected temporarily with a wooden roof.
- During the life of Mimar Sinan, flat domes, windows and side facade arrangements were made in accordance with Turkish architectural style.
- It was damaged by the Golden Horn fires such as the 1633 Cibalikapı fire.
- Its minaret was renovated after the 1766 Istanbul earthquake.
- During the reign of Mahmud II, a Sultan’s Lodge was added and the interior decorations were completed in the 19th century.
- During the restorations carried out in the 2000s, the exterior was scraped (cleaning the paint or rust from the surface with a scraper) and the stone walls were exposed.
- Prominent features of the mosque
- It is said that the building was a church built in the name of Hagia Theodosia or Hagia Euphemia during the Byzantine period.
- It is a Byzantine structure with a closed cross plan and three apses. It has four main arches and flat, octagonal drum domes from the Turkish period.
- To the right of the minbar is a tomb attributed to one of Jesus’ apostles. It is said that “Gül Baba” or the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI is buried here.
- There are no Byzantine decorations on the interior walls. They are decorated with 19th century hand-drawn embroidery and “Seal of Solomon” motifs.
- Near the mosque is a primary school donated by Adile Sultan, the daughter of Mahmud II.
