Çakır Ağa Mosque
Changes After Its Construction:
- It is recorded that it was completely destroyed in the earthquake of 1894 and was rebuilt a few years later.
- It was repaired and put into use in 1899.
- Its present-day form has been shaped as a result of various repairs and interventions, and there is no definitive data on the original plan.
- The mosque’s “mükebbire” (the protruding balcony where the muezzins stand to repeat the imam’s takbirs to the people praying in the narthex) was restored in 2024.
Prominent Features:
- It has a rectangular plan and expands crookedly from south to north.
- It is also known as the “Merdivenli Cami” (“Mosque with Stairs”) with its 21-22-step staircase; it is an elevated building.
- The interior is covered with a wooden ceiling.
- The mihrab and mihrab walls are covered with ceramic tiles, and the minbar, which was apparently placed later, is made of wood.
- It draws attention with its construction on a higher level within a busy commercial area such as the Grand Bazaar.
*Ni’mel Ceyş (Blissful Army) is a title for the soldiers who participated in the Conquest of Istanbul.
**Soubashi, or Subaşı is the title was given to Ottoman timar holders who generated more than 15,000 akçes per annum or to the assistants of the sanjak-bey. The term was also used for the commander of the town or castle in Ottoman Empire, an ancient version of chief of police.
