The most beautiful religious buildings Istanbul

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.

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.

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.

Those who prefer to discover the small traditional buildings, can visit this charming mosque. It was built in 1778, in memory of Abdülhamid I's mother (1774-1789), Sultan Rabia. Mehmet Tahir Ağa, the first architect of Sultan Mustafa III (1757-1773), was the designer. We find his particular touch, the baroque, a style adopted at the beginning of the century. With its 55 windows and unique dome, it contains Turkish and European earthenware.

You can only be struck by the grace and elegance of this mosque, which is unlike any other. Combining baroque and neoclassical styles, it has the particularity of having the finest minarets in the world! On the side, the clock of the Dolmabahçe Palace perfectly complements the softness of the landscape. Another marriage between the West and the East, its architect is Garabed Balyan, appointed by Sultana Mother Bezmi Alem, who built the building in the mid-19th century.

Literally "Underground Mosque", this unique building bears its name well: it has occupied the old cellars of Galata Castle since the mid-18th century and is therefore... underground! With its 54 pillars and labyrinthine corridors, it exudes a unique mysticism. At its location was a Byzantine fortress that was part of Constantinople's defence system. The famous chain that blocked the entrance to the Golden Horn started from this point.

Built in 1427 by Jews from Macedonia, this synagogue is the oldest, but also one of the largest in Istanbul. Still in use, it is the only synagogue founded during the Byzantine period. It takes its name from the city of Ohri in Macedonia, where this Jewish community came from in Byzantine times. The synagogue is known for its boat-shaped reading platform, called Tevah. She only admires herself from the outside.

It is composed of a mosque, a medersa, an elementary school, a hammam, a mausoleum and shops. A real masterpiece! Once again, Sinan surpassed himself by building this complex (1560-1565) for Soliman's daughter, Princess Mihrimah, who died in 1558 and was buried in Süleymaniye. Mihrimah is an aerial building of exemplary simplicity. Considered as Sinan's "original experimentation", the central space of the mosque has been enlarged here and the half-dome, which usually supported the large dome with its north wing, has been removed, which rests, through pendants, on four pillars of blue and pink granite. If, seen from the outside, the mosque looks like a cube topped by a dome that no visible counter-butt comes to consolidate, the interior reserves the most beautiful surprises. Exceptionally bright, the mosque evokes the most beautiful cathedrals in the West. Four practically translucent eardrums, each pierced with 15 windows and 4 ox's eyes, light flows into an almost transparent space. The fountain of ablutions with sixteen columns and square and massive capitals is characteristic of the 16th century. The minaret was replaced in the 19th century by a baroque one. The double hammam, built on a cruciform plane, has canopies and angular cells. The large dome in the middle is supported by half domes. A fountain was added to the complex in 1778.

Built from 1906 to 1912, the church was built according to the plans of the architect Guilio Mongeri. A place of worship of the largest Catholic community, it is one of the largest churches in the city. Made of red bricks, it is typical of Italian neo-Gothic architecture. The offices are in several languages. The apartments that are part of the complex are also the work of the same architect and house members of the Catholic community.

It is one of the oldest mosques in Istanbul, as evidenced by the epigraphy on the pediment of the front door dated 1471-1472. The prayer hall is an exception in Ottoman architecture, which tends to favour larger ranks of the faithful. It was built on the initiative of Has Hasan Paşa, which is illustrated during the wars waged by Mehmed the Conqueror against the Turkoman White Sheep dynasty, Uzun Hasan.