Yeni Mosque
- Changes After Its Construction
- After the Istanbul Fire of 1660, Hatice Turhan Valide Sultan initiated work to rebuild the mosque and its surroundings, which were devastated by the fire.
- During the construction of the Galata Bridge in the 19th century, the courtyard wall was demolished and a road was built between the mosque and the bazaar.
- The hand-carved works in the mosque were renewed and repaired in 1912-1913. The Imperial Pavilion underwent a comprehensive restoration between 2006-2009.
Prominent Features:
- The mosque is a classical Ottoman architecture structure with a central plan and arcaded courtyard. Its main dome is expanded with four half domes and exedras. Entrance is provided by various doors on the sides and in the direction of the mihrab, and the structure is illuminated by six rows of windows.
- The Imperial Pavilion and Sultan’s Lodge in the southeast of the mosque was built in three stories. Inside the pavilion, there are underglaze tiles, wooden door wings inlaid with nacre and rich hand-drawn decorations. The Sultan’s Lodge is on the left side of the mosque’s mihrab wall.
- The bazaar (arasta) of the mosque has been known as the Egyptian Bazaar since the 18th century. There are a total of eighty-eight shops in the L-shaped bazaar consisting of two vaulted streets. It underwent restoration in 1940-1943.
- The tomb located to the south of the mosque is notable for its octagonal drum dome and three-unit portico. The tomb contains the graves of Hatice Turhan Sultan, Mehmed IV, Mustafa II, Ahmed III, Mahmud I and a total of forty-four people from the dynasty.
- The fountain is located to the south of the mosque, completed in 1663-64, and remarkable for its three-sided, pointed arched layout. The tiles inside the fountain are made in Kütahya.
- A timing room (muvakkithane) was built at the corner of the courtyard wall of the mosque in 1813. Its cut stone structure is decorated with a wide eave dome and the tughra of Mahmud II.
- The walls and narthex of the mosque are decorated with tiles, the dominant colours being blue, turquoise and green. Inside the mosque, there are classical patterns and stylised floral motifs in the hand-drawn works.
- The mosque’s two minarets, each with three balconies, rise with a hexagonal body. They are decorated with muqarnas (stalactite) balconies and stone openwork railings.
- There are three sundials on the courtyard wall on the southwestern facade of the mosque, one of which is dated 1663-64.
