Gazi Atik Ali Pasha Mosque

Gazi Atik Ali Pasha Mosque (simply known as Atik Ali Pasha Mosque, Çemberlitaş Mosque, Dikilitaş Mosque or Old Atik Ali Pasha Mosque, as there is another mosque called Vasat Ali Pasha Mosque located in Fatih district of Istanbul) is a historical Ottoman mosque located in Çemberlitaş neighbourhood of Fatih district in Istanbul.  The mosque was built near the entrance of the Grand Bazaar, the ancient Column of Constantine (Çemberlitaş Sütunu) and the historical Nuruosmaniye Mosque. The construction of the mosque was started by the command of future’s Grand Vizier Hadım Atik Ali Pasha in 1496, and was completed in 1497 during the sultanate of Bayezid II. Gazi Atik Ali Pasha Mosque was completely built by cut stone.

As a result of an earthquake that occurred in 1648, the dome of the mosque completely fell down, and the only minaret of the mosque was left partially damaged. The mosque was damaged again by two more earthquakes in 1716 and 1766. As such, the mosque has been revived several times over its history. Interestingly, there were no ablution fountains in the mosque’s original design, making it unique among other Ottoman mosques. The place for performing ablution, and toilet cubicles were added subsequently.

The mosque occupies a surface area of 21.55 by 28.13 m². The roof is composed of one main dome measuring 13.30 m in diameter and one semi-dome as well as four accessory domes that strengthen the roof. The single minaret of the mosque has only one minaret balcony (şerefe). The minaret was heavily damaged in 1648 because of an earthquake and lost its original figure. The entrance of the mosque is decorated with calligraphy written by Sami Effendi, a famous calligraphist of the era, and reads: “Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times, [4:103]-Koran.”