The most beautiful religious buildings Turkey

Built between 1543 and 1548, the most important buildings in this complex are the mosque, considered Sinan's first masterpiece and the Prince's mausoleum. Sinan himself calls it a "learning work" when his reputation is well established. It is dedicated to Mehmed and his brother, Cihangir, who died in 1549. This work will allow Ottoman architecture to adopt a new conception of the placement of the central space, which will later become a school. Dominating all the other buildings in the complex in height and mass, the Prince's Mosque is built around a central square space. Sinan used new elements in the mosque's exterior architecture: a cascade of domes collapses into perfect symmetry and balance. A feeling of weightlessness emerges from the whole. The central dome, combined with the half-domes, reinforces this impression. This mosque earned Sinan his title of Master Architect. With this construction, he laid the foundations of Ottoman religious architecture.

The courtyard, located to the north, and whose surface area corresponds exactly to the space of the prayer room. It is covered by 16 domes. A fountain of ablutions, surmounted by a dome, was erected in its middle during the time of Murad IV. The Prince's mausoleum, with its architecture, ceramic tiles, stucco windows covered with stained glass, is an imposing building. This tomb was built of limestone, marble, green and pink porphyry. The ceramic tiles that cover the entire mausoleum, from the ground to the top of the dome, are sparkling in colour. The wooden cage, surrounding Prince Mehmed's catafalque, is supported by four ivory-inlaid pillars with geometric motifs.

The mausoleum of Rüstem Paşa, was built in 1561 by Sinan. The ceramic tiles consist of calligraphy in thuluth script reproducing verses from the Koran. The mausoleums of Ibrahim Paşa of Bosnia, Prince Mahmud, Sultans Hatice and Fatma, Destari Mustafa Paşa, as well as other tombstones are located in the outer courtyard. The medersa consists of bedrooms and a classroom arranged around a courtyard. The hospice is topped by a dome. The caravanserai stands on the road leading to the current Vefa High School. The elementary school is a space with a single dome, arranged on the side of the caravanserai.

It is one of the most famous panoramas of Istanbul and yet, one never tires of admiring and photographing it: the mosque in the foreground, the Bosphorus and the suspension bridge in the background... The building is located on the tip of the Defterdar, on the European side of the Bosphorus, in the Ortaköy district. Commissioned by Abdülmecid, it was completed in 1853 by the architect Garabed Balian. We usually call it by the name of the neighbourhood, its real name being Mecidiye Camii.

Holy places generally have a well-dosed mixture of mysticism and supernaturalism. While Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror (Fatih), savours the fall of Constantinople, his tutor sees in his dreams the location of a tomb where Abu Ayub al-Ansari, one of the Prophet Mohammed's faithful companions and standard bearers, would be buried. He died during the first siege of Constantinople in 670 and was buried by his army not far from the land walls, in a place that was gradually falling into oblivion. As a result, the Eyüp Mosque is one of the most important holy places in Islam. The Conqueror is therefore doubly rewarded: a mythical city with his record of achievements and a divine sign that solidifies the foundations of his reign! The complex has undergone transformations over the years. It consists of a mosque, a mausoleum, a medersa, a refectory hospice and a double hammam. The current mosque was built between 1798 and 1800, at the time of Selim III. The rectangular mihrab(niche), which projects outwards, is covered with a half dome. The courtyard of the mosque is bordered by a peristyle overhung by thirteen domes. This courtyard, with its plane trees where storks come to make their nests and the hundreds of pigeons that fly around, is one of the backdrops of the city's typical scenography. The chambers of the medersa are located on the side parts of the courtyard. The refectory building is arranged around two spaces also covered with domes. The mausoleum of Eyüp Sultan is an octagonal stone monument, surmounted by a dome and a brass gate allows pilgrims to see the gold inlaid shrine that contains one of Islam's relics: a footprint of the prophet Mohammed's foot found in the seraglio's treasure of Topkapı The blue and white ceramic tiles and stained glass windows in the mausoleum are from the 16th century. A calligraphic frieze circles the inner drum of the monument. In its centre, there is a large chandelier and a blue carpet. Other tombstones or sarcophagi of historical value are located in the cemetery. At the same time, great viziers and ordinary citizens of the Ottoman Empire wished to be buried alongside the saint, giving birth to the great cemetery of Eyüp. The first mosque built after the Ottoman conquest of the city, it is a popular and revered place of pilgrimage.

In the 19th century, a German nun, Catherine Emmerich, had a vision of the Virgin's dwelling at Ephesus. Priests discover the house that matches his description. In 1967, the Pope visited the site and confirmed the veracity of the vision. Since then, pilgrims from all over the world have flocked to the humble house, transformed into a chapel. A service is celebrated on 15 August by Orthodox Christians and Muslims. No dolmuş for the journey: your legs or the taxi.

Discovered by the American Archaeological School of Athens in 1882, it is partly restored. At an altitude of 238 m, this Doric temple is characteristic of archaic Greek architecture with its six columns spaced further apart than it will be afterwards. The setting of the site is simply sublime: its founders were not guided by chance... The sunset (or sunrise) attracts the crowd. You will meet campers, picnickers, romantics, a drink in hand... The caretaker is rarely present outside the usual hours and it is easy to get in.

The mosque with the kesik minare, "truncated minaret", (1361) is in fact an ancient Byzantine church dating from the ^6th century and which celebrated the Virgin Mary. The church itself was built from the remains of a ^2nd century Roman temple. Its minaret, now a damaged tower, continues to arouse curiosity and stands out above the ruins of the building, which partially burned down in the ^19th century. These monuments can be seen from a distance as they are not open to the public.

Isabey Mosque is a 14th century Seljuk mosque erected in the times of the Emirate of Aydın, at the foot of Ayasuluk Hill, with a remarkable stalactite portal. The restoration of the building has left the ancient materials used by its builders clearly visible. Note the bust of the Emir of Aydın. The courtyard of the caravanserai is a haven of peace. The building is still in operation but is open to the public outside of prayer hours.

This imposing mosque, which is so popular to photograph from the Galata Bridge, is the last large ensemble (külliye) in classical style built in the city. Its construction was started in 1597 by one of Master Sinan's pupils, at the request of Sultan Safiye, Murad III's favourite (1574-1595). The task is not an easy one: the obstacle of water infiltration must be overcome, which considerably delays the work. To make matters worse, the architect died in the meantime and the project stopped. Almost in ruins, it was not taken over until 1660, on the initiative of Sultan Hatice Turhan, who then entrusted this mission to Mustafa Ağa. It remained faithful to the original plans and completed the complex in 1663, including imperial apartments, a Koranic reading institute, an elementary school (which has disappeared), a covered market (now the spice market), a public fountain (sebil) and a mausoleum. The resemblance to the Blue Mosque is obvious, but the central dome is much more elevated giving this imposing pyramidal sensation. It rests on a platform to which you can access by a small staircase that leads to the inner courtyard, bordered by a peristyle with domes. The octagonal ablutions fountain in marble is in the middle. Its dome is supported by columns with stalactite capitals. Inside, you can see that the central space is surmounted by a large dome supported by four arches resting on four pillars and four half-domes. Two-level side galleries are located on the east and west sides. The mihrab (niche) is decorated with golden stalactites and the minbar (pulpit) is decorated with interlacing and rosettes; both are in white marble. The earthenware on the walls inside the mosque is 17th century. The dome and arches are decorated with carvings. The pillars and walls, up to two thirds of their height, are covered with earthenware whose dominant tones are dark blue, light blue, white and green. The imperial apartments (Hünkar Kasrı or Valide Kasrı) are a three-storey building built around the arch on the southern corner of the mosque. With its glazed earthenware stoves, ceramic wall coverings, stained-glass windows, doors inlaid with mother-of-pearl and precious wooden fillets, this imperial pavilion is a small palace on its own.

Baroque inspiration and built by architect Mustafa Ağa assisted by Simon the Companion, the complex began in 1748 under Mahmud II and completed in 1756 under Osman III. It is the only sultan to have added a qualifier in the name of a mosque to "baptiser Osman" (Nuruosmaniye). Two large doors on the outside courtyard give access to the Nuruosmaniye district and the Grand Bazaar to which you access a beautiful monumental door. Shops were built from the beginning under the ramp leading to imperial apartments. The mosque, located in the centre of the whole, is built on a platform. The inner courtyard, of absidiale form, bordered by an peristyle surmounted by 14 domes supported by 12 columns, is the only of its kind in Istanbul. The main square of the mosque, of square shape, is covered with a large dome, with over 174 windows of baroque inspiration pouring waves of light inside. The absence of internal pillars, despite the boxes at the colonnade, helps to give a feeling of great decommitment. The classical mederasa is located south of the mosque and adjacent to the popular canteen building. A vestibule covered with a dome gives access to the inner courtyard around which the different rooms and rooms have been distributed. The public fountain is a dome building with wooden cornices supported by four columns of marble. The library is located east of the inner courtyard and has a large polygonal reading room with a dome and supported by four columns. The mausoleum, built on a square plane, is housed in a dome built on a high-placed drum. The calligraphy visible in the complex are the works of the masters of the day, Rasim, Yedikulelizade, Abdülhalim, Müzehhip Ali and Mehmed Refi.

It is the only Orthodox church in Istanbul to have remained a permanent place of worship of the Greek community in Istanbul since Byzantine times. This would essentially be due to an imperial decree bearing the seal and tenra of Mehmed the Conqueror, granting a kind of perpetual concession and preventing the transformation of the church into a mosque. The church was probably founded after the liberation of the capital from Latin occupation in 1261 by Isaac Doucas, nephew of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII. There is still a fresco of the Last Judgment by the painter Modestos, who decorated the church in 1266. This church was dedicated to the Theotokos Panayiotissa (Our Lady Mother of God), and included a convent. Nevertheless, the history of the church is closely linked to that of Princess Maria Palaeologue from 1282 onwards. This princess had married the Mongolian khan in 1265 and lived at her court for more than fifteen years, converting them to Christianity. Back in Byzantium after her husband's murder in 1281, she retired to the convent. The fame of this sister, called Notre-Dame-des-Mongols, quickly made us forget the appellation of origin. The church is named after the Turkish name Kanlı Kilise (bloody church), with fairly violent fighting taking place in the immediate vicinity on the day of the capture of Constantinople. It is located on rue du Porte-Etendard, one of the flags of Mehmed the Conqueror who was killed on this climb.

Start at Ayasoluk Hill where St. John the Theologian is buried. Enter through the Gate of Persecution built by the Byzantines in the 6th century. After his exile on the island of Patmos, Saint John returned to Ephesus around the year 97 and wrote his Gospel there. He died two years later, and on the site of his grave a small church was built. In the 6th century, it became a basilica destroyed in 1402 by Tamerlan. Go up to the Byzantine fortress. The tower of the ramparts offers a panoramic view of the region, the caravanserai and the Isa Bey mosque.

Pleasant hikes in a deep canyon of 50 to 150 m in perspective! More than 50 churches are dug on both sides of the road, such as Camii Kilise ("the mosque church"), the largest in Güzelyurt or Yüksek Kilise ("the high church"). This valley would have sheltered many people in monasteries and churches. Of the 28 churches, 7 are double nave, 17 single nave and one triple nave. These places date from the Byzantine period and can be visited.

The oldest imperial sanctuary in the city, the mosque of Beyazıt is the first illustration of the central dome shape counter-butted by two half-domes. You can admire a kind of synthesis of Byzantine and Ottoman architecture. Located on the ruins of the Theodosius Forum, this mosque is pleasant to visit and somewhat changes from the classic Ottoman architectural canons. This is the second imperial complex of mosques built in Istanbul after the Ottoman takeover of Constantinople. This complex was built between 1501 and 1506 for the Sultan Beyazıt II (1482-1512), son of Sultan Mehmed. Composed of a mosque, a medersa, a popular refectory (which now houses a library), a caravanserai, a school, a hammam and mausoleums, the külliye has been damaged by various earthquakes and has undergone several repairs and restoration. In a style inspired by Saint Sophia, the large prayer room is topped by a dome resting on four large square pillars, counterbalanced by two half-domes. Other elements, such as the columns and buttresses that support the domes, are inspired by the Fatih Mosque. The side naves are connected to the central space by two large arches that were originally dervish convents. Today, note that this mosque is a high gathering place for the city's fundamentalists. Impressive during the Friday prayer.

One of the seven wonders of the world. The tomb of king Mausole is the symbol of the city. With its 46 m height, it was out of the ordinary: its rectangular base supported 36 Ionic columns surmounted by a roof in the shape of a pyramid and it was decorated with statues of Mausole and Artemisia on a quadriga. After its destruction by an earthquake and its plundering by the knights, there is not much left of this marvel of antiquity. Archaeological excavations have brought its foundations to light. The models still help to get an idea.

A pleasant walk through Saraçhane, Horozlu Bayır and Imaret avenues leads to the Tunca River and the 15th-century religious center of Beyazıt, which originally grouped, around its mosque flanked by four minarets, a medical school, a lunatic asylum, a travelers' hostel as well as a medersa. The complex, completed in 1488 by the architect Hayrettin, represents the largest and most complete monument in the city. The style of the mosque borrows from the Three Galleries Mosque (Üç Şerefeli) and the Selimiye Mosque. The interior, meanwhile, is reminiscent of the Yeşil Camii in Bursa and houses the imperial lodge. Preceded by a traditional ablutions courtyard, the prayer hall is topped by a large dome 20 m in diameter, resting on the walls. Two buildings have been nicely renovated into a museum: the hospital and the medical school. They house the Health Museum (Sağlık Müzesi) attached to Trakya University, the first of its kind in Turkey. The place, dedicated to the history of Arab medicine, presents the sometimes original treatments and protocols that were implemented there until 1909. Musicology, for example, was used to treat madness. Mannequins dressed as doctors and patients show the procedures of the time. And explanatory panels enhance the visit. Around the building, gardens offer a welcome break. Don't hesitate to discover the surgical tools room.