Altı Poğaça Ahmet Paşa Mosque
- Changes after its construction:
- The mosque was almost completely destroyed in the 19th century.
- It was damaged in a great fire in 1918 and was reported to have collapsed, down to the base of its minaret, in 1940–1942.
- Its land was occupied by squatters for a period; however, with the support of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the squatters on it were removed and it was restored to its original state and opened for worship in 2011.
- Prominent Features:
- The mosque was originally built as a masjid and was later became known as the Ahmet Paşa Mosque.
- The nickname “Altı Poğaça” (Six Poğaça*) is based on an interesting story about the foundation of the mosque; according to this story, the chief baker of Mehmed the Conqueror brought six poğaças every morning.
- Although the building was largely demolished from its original materials, elements such as the tiled roof, marble mihrab, wooden minbar and reinforced concrete, single-balcony minaret were rebuilt with modern techniques during the 2011 restoration.
*Poğaça is a type of baked bread found in Turkish, Levant, Hungarian and Balkan cuisines.
