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The Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque (Sokollu Mehmet Paşa Camii) is a historic mosque in the Kadırga neighborhood of Istanbul. It’s a short walk from the Sultanahmet area and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Historic Areas of Istanbul.
History
The mosque was built by Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (1506-1579) and his wife Ismihan Sultan (1545-1585) between 1568 and 1572. It was designed by legendary architect Mimar Sinan (1490-1588). It’s one of three mosques in Istanbul with the same name built by Mimar Sinan. The others are in Azapkapı and Büyükçekmece.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha served as Grand Vizier under Süleyman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III. He was born into a Serbian Orthodox Christian family and taken away as part of the devşirme system. After serving as a Jannisary, he rose through the ranks of the Ottoman imperial system, serving as Grand Admiral (Kaptan-ı Derya) from 1546 to 1551; Governor-General of Rumelia from 1551 to 1555; Third Vizier from 1555 to 1561; Second Vizier from 1561 to 1565; and eventually Grand Vizier from 1565 to 1579. Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was assassinated in 1579. He’s buried in a tomb in Eyüp near his wife, Ismihan Sultan.
Architecture
The mosque was built on a steep slope. Mimar Sinan solved this problem by building a two-story courtyard. Shops built into the bottom level would provide rent for the maintenance of the mosque.
Courtyard
There are three gates to the courtyard. The entrance from the front leads up a flight of stairs. The entrance from the north on the upper side of the hill is through a small garden with a corridor.
Three sides of the courtyard contain student cells for the madrasa, each with a window, fireplace, and niche. On the fourth side is the mosque itself. In the center is an ablutions fountain (şadırvan) with 12 columns and an onion-shaped dome.
Domed Portico
The mosque entrance sits behind a domed portico. There are Iznik tile panels above the windows featuring Quranic script. The entrance portal is under a muqarnas niche.
Prayer Hall
The interior of the mosque is decorated with beautiful Iznik tiles all the way up to the dome. There are stained-glass windows above the mihrab. The minbar is made of white marble and is capped with a cone decorated in Iznik tiles.
The dome is 13 meters (43 feet) in diameter and 22.8 meters (75 feet) high. It’s supported by four half-domes. The mosque was designed as a hexagon inside a rectangle.
Above the entrance is a fragment of the Kaaba in Mecca. It sits behind a gilded brass bezel. Other fragments are above the mihrab and minbar.
In the Area…
Walking downhill towards the sea is the impressive Little Hagia Sophia Mosque. To the west along Kadırga Limanı Street is Kadırga Park. Continuing west is Kumkapı.
