The New Mosque Yeni Cami

The New Mosque (Yeni Cami), in Istanbul's Eminönü district on the Golden Horn at the southern end of Galata Bridge, is officially the Mosque of the Valide Sultan (Queen Mother) because it was commissioned by Safiye, mother of Sultan Mehmet III in 1597.

After her son died, Safiye was no longer Queen Mother, with a queen's powers and revenues, so her mosque sat unfinished.

Six sultans later, Turhan Hatice, Queen Mother of Sultan Mehmet IV, took up the work and finished it, which is another reason it's called the Vailde Sultan's Mosque.

I guess it is "new" because it was finished after Istanbul's other great imperial mosques: the Fatih Camii (Mosque of the Conqueror, 1470), Selimiye Camii (1522), Süleymaniye Camii (Mosque of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, 1557), and the Sultan Ahmet Camii (Blue Mosque, 1616).

But the New Mosque was begun before the Blue Mosque was. No doubt many of the workers who toiled on the Valide Sultan Camii were transferred to the Hippodrome in 1606 to begin work on the Blue Mosque. The Valide Sultan Camii was then finished by their descendants three generations later.

Inside is a wealth of gold, marble and faience (colored tiles). Be sure to take a look when you're in Istanbul.

Yeni (New) Mosque is located in Eminönü Square next to the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. It is at the center of a complex and has a striking place in the skyline of Ýstanbul. Construction of the mosque was started in honour of Sultan Mehmed III's mother and Sultan Murad III's wife Safiye Sultan in 1597. The architect, Architect Davud Aða, began working on the design of the mosque until Dalgýç Ahmed Aða took over after 1598. The mosque was only half-finished when Sultan Ahmed I came to the throne.

It was abandoned for nearly fifty years, during which the houses of the Jewish community surrounding it become so numerous that it was referred to as "Zulmiyye" or "the wronged". Construction began again at the initiative of Sultan Mehmed IV's mother, Hatice Turhan Sultan, in 1661. It was completed in 1663, with Mustafa Aða as the architect.

The complex contained a mosque, a primary school, fountains, the summer house of the sovereign and a mausoleum. All but the primary school are standing today. Due to the widening of roads around the mosque the outer courtyard was removed. On the side of the Egyptian Bazaar is an inner courtyard containing 18 pillars, 21 domes, three doors and a beautiful reservoir for ablutions. The area for late-arriving worshippers has eight pillars, nine domes and is covered with glazed tiles up to the base of the windows on the second floor. Above the windows can be seen the calligraphy of Hattat Tenekecizade Mustafa Çelebi. To the left and right are two minarets each with three galleries. The mosque is entered by a flight of steps through three separate doors. It has a square plan. The main dome rests on four half-domes as well as four arches and four elephant feet decorated with glazed tiles. There are a total of 66 domes, including four in the corners and those on the side of the mausoleum and bridge, which are surrounded by columns. The mosque niche and pulpit are made of white marble, and the left of the niche is decorated with a mosaic of gems. The summer house is said to have been built for Turhan Sultan and is a striking structure exhibiting all the characteristic of a classic Turkish house. It was positioned in such a way as to ensure one of the finest panoramic views in the city. The structure has a living room, or salon; and three other rooms. The walls are covered with valuable Ýznik glazed tiles. The woodwork is inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. It was used as a storeroom until 1948, restored between 1948-1966 and opened as a museum in 1967.

The complex includes the mausoleum of Hatice Turhan Sultan, in which five sultans and a large number of royalty make up the largest burial site of the bloodline of the Ottomans. Besides Hatice Turhan Sultan, there are the graves of Sultan Mehmed IV, Sultan Osman III, Sultan Mustafa II, Sultan Ahmed III and Sultan Mahmud I. The dome which covers the mausoleum has a diameter of more than 15 meters.