Kasap İlyas Mosque
Audio Narration:
Construction Year:
15th century (After the Conquest of Istanbul)
Location:
Fatih, İstanbul
Ordered by:
Kasap İlyas Bey (Chief Butcher and “Ni'mel Ceyş”* member during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror)
Architects:
Unknown
Changes After Construction:
- The mosque was completely destroyed in the 1894 earthquake and rebuilt using old stones.
- The narthex was repaired in 1993 and covered with wood.
- The structures around the mosque were demolished during the expansion of the Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine.
Prominent Features:
- The mosque has high windows, round arches and a wooden roof.
- The minaret, which was not damaged by the earthquake, consists of three parts; a stone cone, square base, 10 hexagonal body, and the body and balcony are made entirely of cut stone and continue in their old form. The 8-pointed star inserts on the railing are carved in relief.
- The harem section of the mosque was meticulously repaired and a wooden dome was placed on the ceiling. The top of the mihrab in the niche protruding to the outside has plaster muqarnas (drop structure).
- The minbar is wooden and bears the carved decorations of the period.
- The concrete pulpit is made of plaster at the bottom and has wooden railings on the top.
- There is a women’s gallery in the mosque.
- It is a beautiful example among the Ni’mel Ceyş mosques.
- The mosque, which has a square plan and is constructed of cut stone, has a wooden narthex to the north and a minaret on the northwest corner.
- The mosque is covered with a tiled roof inclined in four directions; The interior has a wooden ceiling and a dome.
- The mihrab is in the shape of a semicircular niche and the interior decorations are late-period hand-drawn works.
- In the graveyard on the qibla side of the mosque is the tomb of its founder, Kasap İlyas Bey.
- Ni’mel Ceyş, “Blessed Army”, name given to those who participated in the Conquest of Istanbul.