Nişancı Mehmet Paşa Mosque

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Construction Year:

1475

Location:

Fatih, İstanbul

Ordered by:

Karamani Nişancı Mehmet Pasha (The last Grand Vizier of Mehmed the Conqueror)

Architects:

Unknown

- Changes after its construction
  • The mosque was completely destroyed by an earthquake.
  • It was rebuilt in the 19th century with its walls built of stone and plastered with cement.
  • The roof is covered with tiles.
  • In the following years, a two-story wooden building with rectangular windows was built
    adjacent to the west wall of the mosque. This building was first used as the imam and
    muezzin lodgings but was incorporated into the mosque as the congregation
    increased.
  • The upper floor was arranged as a women gallery and opened onto the main mosque.
  • The narthex is also located in this part.
  • A small glass-fronted entrance has been added to the front of this building.
  • The minaret is located between two structures.
- Prominent features
  • There are long baroque-style windows on all four sides of the building except the west
    side.
  • The upper part of the windows starts as a semicircle and forms a smaller semicircle at
    the upper center point.
  • The mihrab is made of marble, the minbar and the pulpit are made of wood.
  • The ceiling is made of wooden planks and painted white.
  • The mihrab was added in the 19th century.
  • The interior walls are painted green.
  • Its single-balcony minaret is made of cut stone, its base is square, and its body is
    cylindrical.
  • Entering from the courtyard gate, there are restrooms on the left and ablution taps on the
    wall.
  • Mehmet Pasha was a descendant of Rumi and was martyred by the Janissaries in 1481,
    the year Mehmed the Conqueror passed away.
  • He is buried in the graveyard of the mosque.
  • In the Foundation Records, the mosque is named as “Arif Çelebioğlu Nişancı Mehmet
    Pasha” (Çelebioğlu states that he is a descendant of Rumi).