Edirnekapi Mihrimah Sultan Complex

Edirnekapi Mihrimah Sultan Complex

The Mihrimah Sultan mosque is located on Fevzi Pasa Street at Edirnekapi neighborhood in Fatih County. The mosque was built between 1562-1565 by the architect Sinan by the order of Mihrimah Sultan, daughter of Süleyman the Magnificent. Its construction was continued from 1562 to1565 and it had a a large amount of damage during an earthquake in 1719. The complex is composed of a large mosque, madrasah (theological school attached to a mosque), Ottoman elementary-primary school (Sıbyan Mektebi), tomb, bath and bazaar. Mosque The diameter of the dome of the mosque is 20 meters, and the height is 35 meters. It has an area of approximately 1000 square meters in the middle of the mosque. It has a rectangular-shaped marble pulpit (minber), and the stained glass of the windows strengthen the aesthetic appeal of the mosque. It has only one minaret with a single sherefe (minaret balcony), and that falls outside of the profile of the Sultan Mosques which were built by the architect Sinan. In 1719, the upper part of the minaret collapsed during an earthquake and was rebuilt. After discovering the extnet of the destruction of the domes in this earthquake, it is doubtful that central dome with many windows was rebuilt in a way of consistent with its original character. Other Buildings A building with covered by three domes in the complex is called the Ottoman elementary-primary school (Sıbyan Mektebi). The building just next to it is the tomb of Güzel Ahmet Paşa. In the courtyard of the complex there is a marble fountain.  The inner courtyard consists of 19 rooms and two eyvans, a vaulted room with one side open to a courtyard. There are twin baths (çifte hamam) that were active until the first quarter of the 1900s.      In the complex there was a madrasah and bazaar that do not exist today. Some of the 63 shops in the bazaar are located near the northern wall of the courtyard.