Kemal Paşa Mosque

Audio Narration

Construction Year:

16th century

Location:

Fatih, İstanbul

Ordered by:

Kemal Pasha (Süleyman Bey's father and Ibn-i Kemal's grandfather)

Architects:

Unknown

- Changes after its construction
  •  In the Foundation Records, it is recorded that there were two mosques in this neighborhood;
    however, according to Hadika, the structure known as the “Kemal Paşa Mosque” is the mosque
    where its founder Kemal Pasha is buried. The other structure was built by Kemal Pasha
    freedman Ahmed Bey and was perhaps called “Kemal Paşa” after his master name.
  •  Today mosque has been in existance since 1904, not to be confused with the “Kırımi
    Muhiddin Mosque”, which is among the ruined mosques on the list of foundations.
  • Today, the mosque is a different structure from the original and is a new mosque.
- Prominent features
  •  The plaque written on paper reads, “This honorable mosque was rebuilt after the fire by
    Zeynep Feride Hanım Efendi, the wife of Honorable Hasan Fehmi Pasha, in 1902-1903.”
  •  Hasan Fehmi Pasha was a minister during the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II; his mansion is
    very close to the mosque.
  •  In front of the mosque mihrab, there is a 6×6 m, extraordinarily decorated tomb. The tomb was
    built in 1905, and Hasan Fehmi Pasha, who passed away in 1910, and his wife are buried there.
  •  Its walls are made of masonry; its roof and ceiling are wooden and covered with tiles.
  •  Its mihrab, minbar, pulpit and walls are covered with tiles.
  •  The wooden upper gallery, built on four wooden poles, is accessed by the stairs to the left of
    the entrance.
  •  Its minaret has a single balcony and preserves the characteristics of the period the mosque
    was built in.
  •  There is a graveyard on the south side of the mosque; in this graveyard is the grave of Laleli
    Baba, who gave his name to the district, which was transferred in 1957.