Mihrimah Sultan Madrasa

Audio Narration:

Construction Year:

1547

Location:

Üsküdar, İstanbul

Ordered By:

Mihrimah Sultan

Architect:

Mimar Sinan

Changes After Construction:
  • In the 1961 repair, the access/approach arrangement of the madrasa was reworked, and an entrance scheme was formed in which the classroom section is reached by stairs.
  • In the 1961 repair, some changes were made to the interior arrangement, and the madrasa courtyard was covered.
  • In the Republican period, it was used for a long time as a Children’s Dispensary and a Mental Health building.
  • Today it is used as a private medical/health center.
Prominent Features:
  • It is also known as the Kurşunlu Madrasa; it is stated that its domes were covered with lead.
  • It is located to the north of the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque; the rectangular courtyard is entered through a monumental gate opening from the mosque courtyard, and it is noted that there was a marble fountain at the center of the courtyard.
  • The cells are defined as a total of sixteen, with seven on each of the two long sides of the porticoed courtyard and one on each side of the classroom.
  • It is recorded that the rooms had three windows each, as well as fireplace and cupboard niches; in front of the gate, the rooms, and the classroom, there was a domed portico carried by marble columns, whose capitals are described as diamond-shaped.
  • The square-planned classroom is described as having a single blind dome; it is stated that there were small supporting domes at the corners and that the classroom was lit by windows.
  • It is stated that the madrasa stands on a terrace and that the facade on the sea side was reinforced with stone buttresses.
  • In the conditions of the endowment, daily akçe allocations were assigned for the mudarris and the students; it is recorded that the madrasa’s first mudarris, Imamzade Mehmet Efendi, was appointed in 1547–1548.