Çinili Mosque

Audio Narration

Construction Year:

1638-1640

Location:

Üsküdar, İstanbul

Ordered by:

Mahpeyker Kösem Valide Sultan

Architect:

Koca Kasım Ağa

- Changes after its construction
  • It underwent its first comprehensive restoration in 1938.
  • In 1965, a restoration was carried out by the Directorate General of Foundations.
  • Additional structures such as a madrasah, a shadirvan, a fountain, a primary school and a bathhouse were later added to the original structure of the mosque.
  • The tiles in the Çinili Hamam (“Tiled Bath”) were lost during the renovation in 1964.
- Prominent Features
  • It is also known as the Orta Valide Mosque or Mahpeyker Kösem Valide Sultan Mosque.
  • It is a square-plan, single-domed mosque reflecting the pre-Baroque period of Ottoman architecture, and its interior features extremely rare Kütahya-made tiles.
  • The tile decorations of the mosque are among the last examples of classical Turkish tile art and display the elegance of the late Ottoman art.
  • The madrasah and primary school were built in a scattered manner, in accordance with the slopes of the land, independent of the traditional social complex layout.
  • The fountain, one of the striking features within the mosque complex, is decorated with a specially designed wooden roof.
  • All building units were placed in corners in relation to the surrounding roads, and a dynamic environmental order was provided with structures such as fountains and fountains.