Last updated on .
Sümbül Efendi is a neighborhood in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It’s nestled between Samatya and Silivrikapı.
Introduction to Sümbül Efendi
Sümbül Efendi is situated around the Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque. It’s named for an important Sufi leader prominent in the area. There’s not much to see outside the mosque, but if you go on market day, you’ll witness local life in action. I was able to walk through a street market on Ağa Çayırı Street.
Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque
The Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque (Koca Mustafa Paşa Camii), also known as the Sümbül Efendi Mosque (Sümbül Efendi Camii), is at the heart of the neighborhood. It’s part of a larger complex including a madrasa, a guesthouse, an almshouse, a hamam, a fountain, and several tombs.
History of the Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque
The Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque was originally built during the Byzantine period as the church of the Monastery of St. Andrew in Krisei (Μονὴ τοῦ Ἁγίου Ἀνδρέου ἐν τῇ Κρίσει). The monastery was founded in the beginning of the 5th century by Arcadia (400-444), the daughter of Emperor Arcadius, and was dedicated to St. Andrew the Apostle. It was nicknamed Rodophylion (Ροδοφύλιον) and was later rededicated to St. Andrew of Crete, a martyr in the fight against Byzantine Iconoclasm, who was killed on November 20, 766, in the Forum Bovis (somewhere in present-day Aksaray). His relics were kept at the monastery, which had become a nunnery sometime before 792.
The church was completely rebuilt by Emperor Basil I in the second half of the 9th century, possibly due to damage sustained during Iconoclasm. Princess Theodora Raoulaina (c. 1240-1300), the niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, completely built the entire monastery and church around 1284 and spent the final 15 years of her life there. By the early 15th century, much of the monastery was covered in vineyards and largely neglected.
Conversion to a Mosque
After Ottoman conquest in 1453, the monastery continued to be inhabited and was known as Kızlar Kilisesi (Women’s Church). In 1489, Koca Mustafa Pasha (d. 1512), at the time the gatekeeper (kapıcıbaşı) of Topkapi Palace, converted the church into a mosque. He was of Greek ancestry and later served as a Grand Vizier under Sultan Bayezid II. Sometime later, the monastery building was endowed to Sufi dervishes of the Halveti order led by Sünbül Efendi (1452-1529).
In 1617, Ekmekçizade Ahmed Pasha built the gates to the complex, a madrasa, a Sufi tekke, and a primary school. The tekke, which contained 40 rooms, only partially exists today while the primary school has not survived. Veliyyüddin Efendi (c. 1674-1768) built a muvakkithane (timing room) and tomb to the left of the mosque in the 18th century. Hacı Beşir Ağa (d. 1746), the Kızlar Ağası (Chief Black Eunuch) of the Topkapi Palace Harem, added a fountain in 1737. The complex was restored in 1953.
The complex contains the tombs of Sümbül Efendi, Sâliha Hatun, Sıdıka Hatun, Sheikh Yakub Efendi, Sheikh Adli Hasan Efendi, Sheikh Seyyid Mehmed Nureddin, and Sheikh El-Hac Seyyid Mehmed Hasim, among others.
Features of the Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque
The Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque has lost all of its Byzantine features and is now completely Ottoman in appearance. The entrance is via a portico added by the Ottomans. It contains five domes and was rebuilt by Sultan Mahmud II in the 19th century. In front of the portico are epigraphs by Sultans Mahmud II and Abdülmecid I.
The original Byzantine entrance was through an outer narthex followed by an inner narthex. The outer narthex has five bays while the inner narthex has three. The north bay of the inner narthex is topped by an Ottoman dome while the other two bays are vaulted and Byzantine in origin. When the church was converted to a mosque, the entrance to the outer narthex was sealed and side doors opening up to the inner narthex were added.
The prayer hall and has incorporated the nave of the church as well as both narthexes. The nave features a central dome and three apses. In 1617, Ekmekçizade Ahmed Pasha (d. 1618) doubled the size of the mosque by adding a section to the right side, but it no longer exists.
The dome is supported by four columns and pillar. It was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1766. The exterior is octagonal while the interior is circular, and it has eight windows in the drum. Semi-domes on the north and south sides each have three large windows and rest on arches.
Koca Mustafa Pasha Madrasa
The madrasa is southwest of the mosque. It consists of a central courtyard with 14 students cells, 7 each on the east and west sides, and a classroom measuring 9.45 x 9.15 meters on the south side. Each student cell is topped with a dome. Today, the madrasa functions as a Quran course for boys.
Tomb of Sümbül Efendi
The most important tomb at the complex belongs to Sümbül Efendi (c. 1452-1529), the founder of the Sunbuli order of Sufis. The domed structure was originally on an octagonal plan. It became circular after a repair in the early 19th century during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II. Serasker Mehmed Rıza Pasha (1844-1920) had it restored before 1920, and a trapezoidal extension was added to the south.
Sümbül Efendi was born Yusuf Sinan in Merzifon. He went to Istanbul to attend a madrasa as the student of Efdalzade Hamîdüddin Efendi (d. 1503), a well-known scholar of the period, and eventually became affiliated with Sheik Cemâl-i Halvetî (d. 1494), who gave him his nickname. Sümbül Efendi married Cemâl-i Halvetî’s daughter, Sultan Safiye, and later became the sheik of the Koca Mustafa Pasha Dervish Lodge.
In addition to Sümbül Efendi, Ottoman military commander Serasker Mehmed Rıza Pasha and calligrapher Ömer Efendi (d. 1928) are also buried in the tomb.
Tomb of Sıdıka Hatun
Right in front of the portico you’ll find the tomb of Sıdıka Hatun. According to the inscription, she was the daughter of a Byzantine Emperor Constantine and originally named Katerina. Apparently, much to her father’s dismay, she converted to Islam and took the name Sıdıka. Unfortunately, the inscription doesn’t indicate which Emperor Constantine, and Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Byzantine emperor, was childless. I take it with a grain of salt.
Koca Mustafa Pasha Hamam
Finally, the Koca Mustafa Pasha Hamam (Kocamustafapaşa Hamamı) sits just west of the mosque complex. It was built in 1486 and is a double bath with separate sections for men and women. The structure has largely preserved its original architecture. You can see the domes from Sümbül Efendi Square (Sümbül Efendi Meydanı).
