Mihrimah Sultan Mosque
Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is an Ottoman Selatin mosque located near the coast in the historic district of Üsküdar on the Anatolian side. Colloquially, Mihrimah Sultan Mosque has known by different names including Jetty Mosque, İskele Mosque and Üsküdar Quay Mosque. If we look from the viewpoint of terminology, Mihrimah means “the sun and the moon” in Farsi. Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is a well-known historical landmark of Üsküdar district due to its location and remarkable architectural texture. Moreover, it takes two of its four names, İskele Mosque and Jetty Mosque, from the Ferry Station it stands near.
Mihrimah Sultan Mosque was designed by Architect Sinan who was commissioned by Mihrimah Sultan, the beloved daughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and Hürrem Sultan (Roxelana), as well as the wife of the Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha. Architect Sinan built this mosque between the years 1546 and 1548. Sinan applied a more modern designed version of Hagia Sophia to Mihrimah Sultan Mosque. The simple cubic form and symmetric appearance of the mosque is attention-grabbing. Unlike the usual half-dome design, Sinan used a main dome and accessory half-domes in the roof of Mihrimah Sultan Mosque. Therefore, the entrance of the mosque is almost wholly under the main dome. The mosque is primarily made up of granite and marble. The mosque has two minarets with single balconies that are made up of hewn stone and located at both the right and left sides of the mosque. Like all the other Ottoman mosques, the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque also has an ablution fountain. The words of “Kelime-I Tevhid” are written on the wings of the mosque’s doors.
Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is actually designed as a part of Mihrimah Sultan Social Complex that includes the mosque itself, a madrasah, an elementary school, a hostel, a caravansary and a public soup-kitchen. The Madrasah was built at the north side of the mosque and has survived the elements and natural disasters without losing its originality. Today, the Madrasah building is used as a health center. There are 3 burial chambers between the Madrasah and the Mosque itself. These are tombs of the Grand Vizier Ibrahim Ethem Pasha as well as Murad and Mehmed who are the two sons of Mihrimah Sultan. The elementary school of the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque Complex has also maintained its original form. However, the hostel, caravansary and public soup-kitchen do not exist today.