Hace-i Rakım Efendi Mosque

Audio Narration

Construction Year:

1585

Location:

Fatih, İstanbul

Ordered by:

Hocazade Mustafa Efendi (One of the sheikhs of the Naqshbandi Sufi order)

Architects:

Mimar Sinan

- Changes after its construction
  • The mosque has been severely damaged by various fires and natural disasters over time; it was devastated in the fires of 1918/1919, with only a part of its minaret and ruins of walls remaining standing.
  • It was revived with the help of philanthropists in 1980 and opened for worship in 1984. During the restoration of the building, efforts were made to preserve the original architectural elements; however, some details were also changed.
- Prominent features
  • The mosque has walls constructed from alternating cut stone and brick materials.
  • The inner nave is covered with a dome placed on an octagonal drum; the exterior of the dome is completed with lead coating.
  • The narthex was built using wooden materials and there is a built-in staircase to reach the upper gallery.
  • Its mihrab is made of marble, and its minbar and preacher’s pulpit are made of wood.
  • There are two rows of windows in the mosque walls, on the lower and upper rows; the prayer band running around the four walls of the mosque, on the upper part of the lower row of windows, is noteworthy.
  • While the mosque was named “Hocazade Mustafa Efendi” to honor its founder, it is also stated in historical records that the grave of the founder is in Eyüp.
  • The “mukabele” (mutual reading of the Holy Quran) on Thursdays and the mosque’s tradition of worship have led to the building being known among the public as the “Perşembe Tekkesi (Thursday Lodge) Mosque”.
  • In addition, in the Turkish inscription in the mosque, the name of the building is also mentioned as “Hacegi Rakım Efendi Mosque”.