Istanbul Yalı Mosques

 Ali Kethüda Mosque

Ali Kethüda Mosque, located in Sarıyer, Istanbul, was built on Sarıyer Yeni Mahalle Street in 1690 by Grand Vizier Kethüda Ali Efendi during the reign of Sultan Mustafa II. A minaret was added to the mosque, which was repaired in 1720 by the deceased Mehmet Aga, the Grand Vizier Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha's Kethüda. The restoration of the mosque was completed in 2022.

The two-storey mosque is one of the most illuminated mosques in Istanbul. It consists of an indoor last congregation place and a harim. In the mosque, whose windows on the upper floor are used as doors, you can pass to the women's section through these doors.

Ali Pertek Mosque

Ali Pertek Mosque is a 16th century Ottoman mosque located on the coastal road in Rumelihisarı neighbourhood of Sarıyer district of Istanbul. It is also known as Hamam Mosque. It was built by Ali Bey, nicknamed Pertek, a Turkish sailor during the reign of Suleiman I. Since there is no original inscription, the exact date of construction is unknown. It was repaired in 1763. After its closure in 1937, the mosque, which had fallen into ruins due to neglect, was restored and reopened in 1960. In the corner where the mihrab wall of the mosque is located, there is Rakım Pasha Fountain dated 1715.

Arnavutköy Tefvikiye Mosque

Tevfikiye Mosque is a historical mosque from the Ottoman Period, located on the coastal road in Arnavutköy neighbourhood of Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. It is also known as "Arnavutköy Mosque" and "Akıntı Burnu Mosque". Ownership belongs to the Foundations Administration

Sultan Mahmud II built the mosque on behalf of his son Şehzade Tevfik, the architect is unknown. The mosque, whose construction started in 1832, was opened for worship in 1838.

The mosque, which has a rectangular plan, masonry walls, wooden roof, single minaret, four entrance gates in a large courtyard, has a total area of 3499 square metres and its interior area is 287 square metres. The minaret with a single minaret is made of cut stone.

Bebek Mosque

It is located in Bebek, the most luxurious neighbourhood of Istanbul. It is west of Bebek ferry pier. It was built in 1913 by Architect Kemaleddin using cut stone to replace a mosque previously built by Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha. It is considered within the neo-classical movement. The dome is built on eight pulleys. This large dome is supported by four half domes from the sides.

One of the two inscriptions in the mosque is located at the entrance of the last congregation and the other is located above the harim door. The inscription on the last congregation entrance, which gives the construction date of the building, has the inscription "Ketebe Hakkı".

The carvings and arches of the pulpit have a mobile appearance. There are two separate sections surrounded by wooden railings on both sides of the door entering the harim section. The pulpit is also made of wood like the minbar. Sixteen windows in the pulley are coloured with turquoise coloured flat glasses from inside.

Beylerbeyi Mosque

This mosque, also known as Hamid-i Evvel Mosque, is located in Beylerbeyi neighbourhood on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. It was built by 1st Abdülhamid II in the memory of his mother Rabia Sermi Sultan by architect Mehmet Tahir Aga.

Beylerbeyi Mosque was built in this place after the demolition of the Istavroz Palace in the middle of the 18th century.

With 55 windows, the interior is decorated with pencil works and both Ottoman and European tiles are visible on the walls. On the dome pulley, the "esmâ-i hüsnâ" written by Yesârîzâde in celî sülüs and renewed by the calligrapher Halim in the repair in 1945 is wrapped around in a belt. Since the ground of the mosque was constantly under the influence of water currents, it was changed shortly after its construction in 1810 - 1811 during the reign of Mahmut II. The last congregation place was changed and the minaret was demolished and two new minarets were added, as well as a muvakkithane to the south of the mosque, a fountain with four facades on the sea shore and a hünkar's apartment next to the muvakkithane were built. During the 19th century, the building underwent various repairs and was badly damaged in the 1894 earthquake. In 1969 it underwent a serious restoration.

Emirgan Mosque

Emirgan Hamid-i Evvel Mosque is a historical mosque from the Ottoman Period, located in Emirgan neighbourhood of Sarıyer district of Istanbul.

Emirgan Hamid-i Evvel Mosque, located right on the shores of the Bosphorus, was built in 1781 by Abdülhamid I for his princes Mehmed and his mother Hümâşah Hatun, who died at an early age. Today it is more commonly known as Emirgan Mosque.

Built of cut stone with a square plan and a wooden roof, the mosque is very bright inside with large windows in two rows on the walls. The minaret with a cylindrical body and a single balcony is located on the right corner of the entrance façade.

The mosque, which overlooks Çınaraltı, where well-known literary figures and intellectuals once held chat meetings, was built as a complex. Emirguneoğlu Yusuf Pasha, who gave his name to the neighbourhood in the area where the mosque is located, once had a magnificent coastal palace.

Haci Kemalettin Mosque

It is located in Sarıyer district, Rumeli Hisarı neighbourhood, Yahya Kemal street and was built by MAHMUT I in 1739.

The entrance of the fevkani mosque with a plan close to the square is provided from the last congregation place, which is accessed by a staircase. At the entrance of the harim space, there are muezzin mahfils on both sides, while the top of these are considered as women's mahfils carried by wooden beams. The ascent to this place is provided by the staircase in the muezzin mahfil on the right. At the south end of the building, there is a protrusion carried by three columns from the outside. The wooden annex, which houses the last congregation place of the mosque and the spaces reserved for the mosque officials, is adjacent to the north of the mosque. The minaret of the mosque with a single minaret can be seen at the north end of the building.

The most specialised facade of the mosque is the east facade with cut stone and brick masonry. The harim space is illuminated by five windows with pointed arches and revzen at the top and a rectangular window with a flat and deaf mirror facing the women's mahfil. While five windows with flat arches and deaf mirrors are seen at the bottom, there are two rectangular windows on the front façade and one on each side of the marble-covered projection, which overflows from the façade with a window width at the southern end. Three columns with rococo capitals carry this projection. Six openings with flat arches on the ground level form the shop fronts. In the north of the building, there is a two-storey wooden annex with two openings above the ground, while the other two facades are covered with plaster. The mihrab facade has five pointed arched revzen windows on the upper line. On the west façade, there are five revzen windows with semicircular arches at the top and five rectangular windows underneath in the same character. The top of the building is a four-sided hipped roof.

The harim space, which is entered through a flat arched door, is a flat-roofed, prismatic volume. At the entrance, the holistic volume is reached from the mahfil carried by two wooden columns on both sides. Stained glass windows with inscriptions are seen along the upper window line. At the bottom there are rectangular windows providing light to the space. The decoration programme with baroque, rococo and empire character provides a holistic perception of the space.

Hamdullah Pasha Mosque (Çınarlı Mosque)

Hamdullah Pasha Mosque is located in Çengelköy at the historical plane tree. This mosque, built by Abdullah Pasha in 1823, is a small, domeless mosque. Its minaret is small and without honour compared to other mosques. The mihrab of the mosque is decorated with tiles.

Since Hamdullah Pasha Mosque is old, it saw its first restoration in 1835. Then it was restored again in 1963 with the help of Hacı Mustafa Telli from İnebolulu and the people. A carpenter made the door without money. Nurettin Menekşe from Kemah was appointed as imam to Hamdullah Pasha Mosque. After 7 years of work and effort, the mosque was cleaned around the mosque and increased from 73 square metres to 170 square metres. The minaret of the mosque is covered with sheet metal and the chancel is covered with zinc. The mosque is entered from the streets of Çınarlı Mosque street and Pazarkayığı street. It is located under a plane tree.

Handan Aga Mosque (Asparagus Mosque)

Hasköy Handan Aga Mosque, also known as Kuşkonmaz Mosque, is located in Hasköy neighbourhood of Beyoğlu district on the shores of the Golden Horn. Built during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmet (1453-1481), the building was repaired or renovated in different periods. The single minaret rising on a square base is adjacent to the mosque from the north façade. The rectangular building with a rectangular plan close to the square is wooden and has three storeys. The mihrab façade is covered with a collage of tiles from different periods, including three on the upper floor, the entire mihrab wall at the level of the mihrab and the side walls of the windows. The tiles, which mostly have an appearance far from compositional integrity, are parts of forms such as borders, ulama and panels. Even though they have irregular edges, the pieces have a variety of patterns and colours. Generally, reed path, hatai and naturalist style motifs are observed. While blue and white tiles dominate this space, there are also multicoloured tile fragments (red, turquoise, green, dark blue colours are also used). It is thought that the tile fragments produced with underglaze technique are Iznik Tiles dated to the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Although they cover a very small area, Mayolica pieces in which yellow, green and brown are predominantly used are also found. When the tile fragments are analysed in detail, it is seen that the same or very similar pieces of tiles that we see in the Handan Ağa Mosque were used in buildings such as Üsküdar Çinili Mosque, Sultan Ahmet Mosque, Takkeci İbrahim Ağa Mosque, Eminönü Yeni Mosque and Topkapı Palace. The techniques, pattern features, styles, colours, and colours of the fragment tiles used in the Handan Aga Mosque and the other buildings in which they were used have been determined.

Kandilli Mosque

The first construction date of the Kandilli Mosque on the Anatolian side is H.1042 (1632). The current structure was renovated in 1751 (H.1165) by the order of Mahmut I. The place of worship in question was devastated after a fire and took its present form after a major repair.Kandilli Mosque has a rectangular plan close to the square and is a fevkani (two-storey) building. The ceiling of the mosque, which has a simple appearance, is covered with wood. The courtyard of the mosque is entered by a passage opening to the street on the mihrab facade and also by steps leading to the sentence door. There is a small fountain here. The stone minaret of the mosque also covers a part of this small courtyard. The tile mihrab, made of plaster material, was moved here from an older mosque when this place of worship was built.

Captain Derya Cezayirli Hasanpaşa Mosque

Captain-General Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha Mosque is located on Büyükdere Street in Sarıyer, Istanbul. The mosque was first built by Cerrah Mahmut Efendi in the 15th century. It was later repaired in 1781 by Captain-General Cezayirli Hasan Pasha. For this reason, the mosque is known as the Mosque of Captain-at-Large Cezayirli Hasan Pasha.Historical sources reveal that the mosque, located on Çayırbaşı Street in Büyükdere, was built between 1500 and 1587 by Cerrah Mahmut Efendi, the doctor of Captain-at-Large Kılıç Ali Pasha. It is also recorded that Captain-at-Large Cezayirli Hasan Pasha repaired the mosque in 1781 and built a fountain adjacent to the treasury. For this reason, it is stated that it was named Cezayirli Hasan Pasha Mosque.

Kilic Ali Pasha Mosque

Kılıç Ali Pasha Mosque is a mosque in the Tophane neighbourhood of Istanbul, built by Captain General Kılıç Ali to Mimar Sinan. According to two inscriptions in the mosque, it was built in 988 AH (1580 AD). The mosque is a small-scale revision of Hagia Sophia with half domes on both sides of the dome, arches on the other two sides and supporting walls. The tiles on the mihrab side are the product of Iznik's brilliant period. The reason behind the modelling of Hagia Sophia is unknown. The entrance, window tops and the lines on the mihrab belong to the calligrapher Demircikulu Yusuf Efendi, who is considered the last representative of the Karahisari School.

In 2011, this work of Mimar Sinan, which is one of the most valuable treasures of Istanbul with its mosque, tomb and bath, which underwent a serious restoration in 2011, attracts the attention of local and foreign tourists. Other parts of the complex, including the madrasah, were restored and completed in 2015. The mosque is in harmony with the Tophane Fountain, a square fountain located right across the mosque, and contains many graves of levent. The most spectacular of these is the sarcophagus tomb of Captain-General Ateş Mehmet Pasha with a sailboat and broken mast. The mihrab is carried out from the mosque wall. It has a fountain in the entrance courtyard. It is rumoured that the story of this mosque, which is located in Tophane Square and was built in 1581 by Captain-at-Large Kılıç Ali Pasha to Mimar Sinan, is as follows: Kılıç Ali Pasha asked Sultan Murad III for a place to build a mosque. The Sultan told Kılıç Ali Pasha to build a mosque on the sea because he was the captain-general. Upon this, Pasha made an agreement with Mimar Sinan and started the construction of the mosque by piling stones, soil and rubble on the edge of the Tophane dock. For this reason, it is said that Kılıç Ali Pasha Mosque was the first mosque built on the sea.

Kuleli Kaymak Mustafa Pasha Mosque

Kuleli Kaymak Mustafa Pasha Mosque, located on Kuleli Street in Üsküdar Kuleli, was built in 1720 during the reign of Sultan Ahmet III by Nisanci Mustafa Pasha, who was the son-in-law of Nevsehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha, who served as Captain-General. The wooden roofed structure, the wooden last congregation place and the hünkar mahfili was added by Sultan Mahmut II in 1837. The mosque underwent a major repair in the early 1990s and after this work, the top of the last congregation place was arranged as a women's mahfili. In 2018, the restoration of the mosque was started in accordance with the original and it is closed for worship. This mosque with a single minaret and a single balcony is also known as Kulebahçe Mescidi, Kuleli Ocağı Mescidi and Kuleli Mosque.

Mehmet Tahir Efendi Mosque

It was built on the edge of İskele Street in Üsküdar Selimiye. It was previously known as Harem İskele Mosque because it was located close to the sea. The builder of the building was Seyyid Mehmed Tâhir Efendi (d. 1832). Although he died in Payas and was buried in Zeytinlik Cemetery, his grave is next to the graves of his mother and wife in the treasury of this mosque. The mosque is not a building belonging to the reign of Sultan Mehmed the Fatih, as some sources suggest. It was built in 1242 (1826-27) and is a simple example of the Empire style. However, Ayvansarâyî writes that this mosque was replaced by a masjid dated 1122 (1710) (Hadîkatü'l-cevâmi', II, 241).

In front of the sentence gate of the mosque facing the street, there is a porch supported by four marble columns with decorated bowl-shaped capitals. Above the door is inscribed in sülüs calligraphy "wa huwa's-semîu'l-alîm" (Allah is Hearing and Knowing). On the wall of the treasury to the left of the door, again in Tâhir Efendi's calligraphy, the verse of the Ankebût sûra, "Every soul will taste death; you will be returned to us at the end" (29/57) is inscribed in two cartouches and the phrase "yâ hû" is inscribed in the centre. There are latrines and ablution faucets opposite the treasury, a water reservoir in one corner of the courtyard and a well in the centre. The walls of the mosque have a lively and decorative appearance with the alternating weave of cut stones and bricks, and the same features are provided by the flat and diagonal placement of white cut stones on the minaret made of bricks. The four corners of the mosque are chamfered to form a semi-cylindrical shape. The windows in the upper row of this fevkanî building have brick arches, while the lower ones have rectangular jambs. The second gate of the courtyard facing the sea also has a porch.