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Haseki is a neighborhood in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It sits between Aksaray and Altımermer and north of Cerrahpaşa.
Introduction to Haseki
During the Byzantine period, the area occupied by present-day Haseki was a marketplace. The markets continued into the Ottoman period but as a place where all the buyers and sellers were women. At that time, it was known as Avrat Pazar. After Hürrem Sultan built the Haseki Hürrem Sultan Mosque and associated complex, the name of the area gradually changed to Haseki by the 19th century.
Haseki Hürrem Sultan Complex
The Haseki Hürrem Sultan Complex (Haseki Hürrem Sultan Külliyesi) was commissioned by Hürrem Sultan (c. 1504-1558), the wife of the Süleyman the Magnificent. It was designed by architect Mimar Sinan (c. 1490-1588) and was his first imperial project.
The complex contained a mosque, a madrasa, a primary school, a fountain, a soup kitchen, and a hospital, and was built in several stages. The mosque was completed in 1538/39, the madrasa and primary school in 1539/40, and the soup kitchen in 1540/41. The hospital was the final structure completed in 1550/51. The exact construction date of the fountain is unknown, but the inscription states it was repaired in 1766.
The complex sat empty after the 1920s until it was restored between 1960 and 1970. It was then allocated to the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı) in 1976. It operated until 2002 as the Haseki Education Center (Haseki Eğitim Merkezi), offering courses for preaching and mufti courses. The complex was restored between 2010 and 2012 and slated for use as a museum but was instead returned to the Presidency of Religious Affairs. Since 2014, it has operated as the Religious Academy Istanbul Haseki Reisülkurra Abdurrahman Gürses Religious Specialized Center (Diyanet Akademisi İstanbul Haseki Reisülkurra Abdurrahman Gürses Dini İhtisas Merkezi).
Haseki Hürrem Sultan Mosque
The mosque, which contains one minaret, is fronted by a portico with five arches and five small domes supported by six marble columns.
The mosque was enlarged towards the east in 1613 by Hasan Bey. This doubled the size of the prayer hall and added a second identical dome. There was originally one dome with a diameter of 11.3 meters. The paintings on the underside of the dome are not original.
The mihrab features baroque decorations while the minbar is made of marble. The mosque was damaged by fire in 1660 and 1918, and during an earthquake in 1894.
Madrasa
The madrasa (medrese) is directly across the street from the mosque. It’s U-shaped structure with 16 student cells around 3 sides of a central courtyard. On the other side is a classroom with a dome 6.8 meters in diameter. Each student cell is domed and equipped with a small stove. The madrasa is used today as a dormitory for the religious academy. I was only able to see the outer wall.
Primary School
The primary school (sibyan mektebi) is next to the madrasa. It consists of two square classrooms topped by a flat roof. One unit is open on two sides and probably used as a playground, while the other is closed with four walls and was used as the classroom.
Soup Kitchen
The gate to the soup kitchen (imaret) is next to the fountain. It’s situated around a rectangular courtyard surrounded by an arched portico.
The kitchen is at the northern end and features two large domes, four small domes, and four octagonal chimneys. Two halls are on the east and west sides, each topped by four domes.
Hospital
The hospital (Dârüşşifâ) is on the northeast corner of the complex. It has an octagonal courtyard with domed rooms around five sides and the entrance is on the north side. The building has had several functions over the years and was repaired in 1892 and 1911. Today, it functions as the administrative center for the religious academy.
Bayram Pasha Complex
The Bayram Pasha Complex (Bayram Paşa Külliyesi) is next to the Haseki Hürrem Sultan Complex. It was built by Bayram Pasha (d. 1638) in 1635 and the architect was Kasım Ağa (1570-1659). The complex consisted of a madrasa, a primary school, a dervish lodge, a fountain, shops, and a tomb.
The madrasa and primary school are on the east side of the street. The madrasa consists of a square courtyard with porticos on three sides. Behind the porticos are domed student cells equipped with windows, niches, and stoves. On the other side is the large domed classroom. Vaulted shops were built underneath the madrasa taking advantage of a natural slope. As for the primary school, it was a two-story structure with a wooden roof, but only the foundation survives today.
The dervish lodge is on the west side of the street. It consists of an L-shaped building with 10 domed dervish cells. The sheikh’s room is on the west end. None of the cells have windows. An octagonal domed mosque used for Sufi sema ceremonies is next to the cells.
Tomb of Bayram Pasha
The tomb of Bayram Pasha is on the corner opposite the madrasa. It’s a single-domed structure on a square plan, and the octagonal fountain rests along the northeast side.
Bayram Pasha was originally of Armenian origin and born in Ladik, near the city of Amasya. He was taken as part of the devşirme system and conscripted to the Janissary corps. the Ottoman governor of Egypt from 1626 to 1628 and Grand Vizier under Sultan Murad IV from 1637 to 1638. He was married to Hanzade Sultan (c. 1609-1650), the daughter of Ahmed I, and died of natural causes near Urfa. Bayram Pasha was known for his public works and repairing the Walls of Constantinople.
Haseki Bostan Hamam
The Haseki Bostan Hamam (Haseki Bostan Hamamı) is a few steps southwest of the Haseki Hürrem Sultan Complex down Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Street. It’s a double bath commissioned by Haseki Hürrem Sultan and built around the same time as her complex. The architect was Mimar Sinan. The hamam is unique for the fact that the women’s bath was larger than the men’s bath, highlighting the importance of the area for women.
The hamam was in the process of restoration when I passed by. Work started in November 2021 and it’s expected to open to the public in the future (as of March 2025).
