Fethiye Mosque

Audio Narration

Construction Year:

Late 13th century (c. 1282); converted into a mosque in 1591.

Location:

Fatih, İstanbul

Ordered by:

Michael Tarchaneiotes Glabas; Sultan Murad III, converted into a mosque.

Architect:

Byzantine-era construction; architect unknown when converted into a mosque

- Changes the building has undergone since its construction
  • After the conquest of Istanbul in 1455, it began to be used as a patriarchate.
  • In 1591, during the reign of Sultan Murad III, it was converted into a mosque and named “Fethiye” (en: “of the conquest”).
  • The apse section was demolished. A mihrab appropriate to the qibla direction, a minaret and a madrasah were added.
  • It was repaired by Sultan Abdulmejid in 1845.
  • In 1938-1940, serious restoration was carried out by cleaning the exterior plasters.
  • It was converted into a museum during the Republican period; in 1955 the American Byzantine Institute uncovered the mosaics.
  • It was reopened as a mosque in the 1960s.
- Prominent features of the mosque
  • Formerly known as Theotokos Pamakaristos Monastery Church.
  • After the conquest of Georgia and Azerbaijan in the Iran-Ottoman Wars during the reign of Sultan Murad III, it was converted into a mosque as a memory of the conquest.
  • It has walls made of a mixture of stone and brick. The main structure with 5 compartments is surrounded by vaulted corridors on three sides and covered with a large dome with a high drum illuminated by 12 windows.
  • The interior mosaics contain Greek inscriptions and original features of Byzantine art. The mosaics and frescoes were discovered during the restoration of mosques and museums.
  • In the courtyard is the Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha Madrasa, and across to it is the Ali Mektep.