Avcı Bey Mosque

The structure was built in 1529 by Avcı Başı Mehmet Bey and over time served local worship as a neighborhood mosque.
In the 19th century, following the discovery of the grave of the Sahaba Sha’ba in its vicinity, Sultan Mahmud II built a tomb here and renewed Avcı Bey Mosque in the same period.
The structure, which was left without staff in 1929, was sold to demolishers by the Directorate of Foundations in 1933 and demolished.
In the 1950s, the last remaining wall fragments were also removed, and for a long time the trace of the structure effectively disappeared.
With the restoration carried out in the 2020s, the mosque was revived again and opened for worship. The reconstruction works were completed around 2022.

Avcı Bey Mosque is one of the traditional neighborhood masjids of Istanbul dated to the 16th century.
Although the structure suffered great destruction over time, in addition to being referred to in historical sources as “Eğrikapı Masjid,” it is also known as an important place of worship in local neighborhood life.
Its being found near the grave of the Sahaba Sha’ba during the renewal formed a historical layer that enriched the spiritual and cultural context surrounding the mosque.
The restoration works in the 21st century aimed to revive the historical identity of the structure both in plan and in appearance.