Eyup Sultan Mosque

The Eyup Sultan Mosque
The Eyup Sultan Mosque and Mausoleum of Eyup Sultan, located outside the corner where the land walls meet the walls along the Golden Horn, Is considered a sacred site for the Islamic world.

The Eyup Sultan Mosque was constructed in the memory of Halid Bin Zeyd, known as Eyup El Ensari, who was martyred during the first siege of Constantinople by the Arabs between the years 674 to 678. Nothing has remained of the first mosque that Mehmet II had constructed. The Eyup Sultan Mosque, visited today, was built by Selim III during 1798-1800 after the destruction of the former one during an earthquake in l766.

The Eyup Sultan Mosque has a square plan and a central dome. Around the dome there are 8 smaller domes. The Eyup Sultan Mosques architecture is highly similar to the plan of the Sokollu Mosque built by Sinan in Azapkapi. It does not resemble much to the baroque mosques of the time. Interior of the mosque was decorated with calligraphic works and framed inscriptions given as a gift in different periods.

The tile panels from the 16th century, dominated with shades of blue and green, attract most of the attention to the tomb of Eyup Ensari. The building has an octagon shape and a dome. The Window of Life, which faces the courtyard of the mosque and has bronze carving, was build under auspices of Sultan Ahmet I. In the epitaph it is written that the Sultan Ahmet had also visited the tomb during the construction the minaret.

At the outermost part of the courtyard and among the sublime plane trees there is an elegant fountain. In the three sides of the outer courtyard is a portico of thirteen domes on twelve columns. Of these domes, inner seven form the last congregation place of the mosque.

There are small fountains called the Fountains of Fortune' at the four corners of the banisters surrounding the plane tree.

Of the buildings in the complex of the Eyup Mosque, such as madrasah, caravansary, hamam and soup-kitchens, only a part of the hamam and the tombs have survived. The boys to be circumcised, the hopeless patients in search for a remedy, the sport teams to play national games frequently visit the Eyup Mosque and pray.

In the Eyup district, there are many tombs and complexes built for pious people who want to be buried in the vicinity of this saint.

Moreover, it is very delightful to drink Turkish coffee by watching the Golden Horn from the Cafe above, the Pierre Loti Cafe. The Cafe takes its name from the French author who wrote his works here in the 19th Century.

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