Haseki Sultan Mosque
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Changes After Its Construction:
- The soup kitchen was added by Mimar Sinan in 1550.
- The mosque was enlarged by Sedefkar Mehmet Ağa in 1612 by adding a dome to the east side of the mosque.
- It was damaged in various fires and earthquakes and last underwent extensive restoration between 1963 and 1974.
Prominent features:
- The complex consists of a mosque, a madrasah, a primary school, a soup kitchen, a hospital and a fountain. Haseki Street divides the complex into two.
- The mosque was initially built with a single dome, but with the addition of a dome later on, it became a transverse rectangular structure.
- The madrasah of the mosque consists of a courtyard surrounded by rooms on three sides. The entrance to the madrasah is through two doors across the mosque door.
- The primary school within the complex consists of a square-plan room next to the madrasah and a semi-open section with a portico adjacent to it.
- The soup kitchen of the mosque consists of five main sections between porticos supported by marble columns with diamond-shaped capitals. It attracts attention with its 10-domed structure with lanterns.
- The hospital consists of two sections, each with six rooms, placed at the five corners of the octagonal courtyard.
- The main entrance of the hospital is a fountain in a lower street.
- Hurrem Sultan stipulated in her foundation charter that the profits would be spent on freeing slaves. She also wanted those working in the complex to be kind and understanding to the sick and the poor.
