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Istanbul till the construction of Suleymaniye.
The diameter of its dome is 26 m and its height is 50 m. Much of
the material of the church was used in the construction.
The Fatih complex was the first Ottoman university in
Istanbul. There were many madrasahs, libraries, primary
schools, charity establishments, caravansaries, cooking
houses, hospitals and bathrooms in the complex.
The mosque was thoroughly damaged after the great
earthquake in 1766 and the new Fatih Mosque was
constructed until 1771. Sultan Mustafa III undertook the
costs of the construction. The architect of the mosque
is famous Mehmet Tahir Agha. The dome
of the new mosque was seated upon the arches carried by
4 main columns. At each side of the main dome there is a
semi-dome, at each corner of the building there is a
small dome. The minarets each having
one balcony were partially deconstructed and new, higher
ones with two balconies were constructed instead. The
main niche is of baroque style. There is a fountain for
drinking water inside the mosque, which is an unusual
ornament. A portico with 22 columns
surround the narthex. This portico is seated upon 16
granite cblumns. Of these columns, 6 are red granite, 8
are green porphyry, and 2 are dark colored granite.
The Arabic script calligraphy panels by the courtyard
entrance are very beautiful. These are written on marble
and tile panels. In the courtyard there are the tombs of
Gulbahar Sultan, wife of Fatih Sultan Mehmed (the
conqueror) and Gazi Osman Pasha, the hero of Ottoman-Russian
War between 1877-1878. There is KIZTA§I
on the street opposite the main road in front of the
Fatih Mosque. Its height is 17 m. In fact, this is the
Marcias column standing at the center of a square during
the Byzantine era. When we leave the Fatih Mosque and
walk toward Land Walls and enter Yavuz Selim Street, we
come across Selimiye Mosque, one of the most important
mosques in Istanbul. |
