Büyük Selimiye Mosque

Büyük Selimiye Mosque

Year Built
1802 - 1805
Commissioned By
III. Selim
Architect
Ahmed Nureddin Efendi
Location
Uskudar
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Changes After Construction

  1. The narthex was changed and the minarets were rebuilt by Sultan Mahmud II in 1810-1811.

  2. The minarets were destroyed in the lodos storm in 1823, but were quickly renovated.

  3. Extensive repairs were carried out between 1954-1959 and 1967.

  4. It underwent extensive restoration between 1999-2002.

  5. The Sultan's Pavilion is currently used as the İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı Library.

Featured Highlights

  • It was built in the Baroque style and some of its details were in the Empire style.

  • The mosque is a central single-domed structure, the main dome rests on four large arches and there are large windows in the dome drum.

  • The hand-drawn decorations inside the mosque and the placement of the Surah al-Fath ("The Chapter of the Conquest", one of the chapters of the Holy Quran) on the mosque's belt refer to the conquest ideals of Selim III.

  • The asymmetrical layout of the Sultan's Lodge adds an innovative dimension to the architecture of the mosque.

  • It has a main entrance accessed by double-sided ramps and a simple courtyard without a portico.

  • Within the complex, there is a bathhouse, a primary school (today it is a children's library), a timing room (muvakkithane) and fountains.

  • The mosque has been used for military funerals since the 19th century.

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T.C. İstanbul Valiliği

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