Kara Ahmed Pasha Mosque

The Kara Ahmed Pasha Mosque or Gazi Ahmed Pasha Mosque (Turkish: Kara Ahmet Paşa Camii) is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque near the city walls in Istanbul, Turkey. It was designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan and completed in around 1572.

Kara Ahmed Pasha Mosque
Religion
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Location
Location	Istanbul, Turkey
Location within the Fatih district of Istanbul
Geographic coordinates	41°01′16″N 28°55′45″E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Mimar Sinan
Type	mosque
Style	Ottoman
Groundbreaking	1555
Completed	c. 1572
Specifications
Dome dia. (outer)	12.0 m (39.4 ft)
Minaret(s)	1
Materials	ashlar masonry

Cross section and plan of the mosque published by Cornelius Gurlitt in 1912

History

The mosque was commissioned by Kara Ahmed Pasha who was married to Fatma Sultan, a daughter of Selim I. He became grand vizier under Suleiman the Magnificent in 1553 but was executed by strangulation two years later in 1555. The mosque was planned in around 1555 but only constructed between 1565 and 1571–72 after the pasha had been fully exonerated.^[1]

Architecture

The courtyard is surrounded by the cells of a medrese and a dershane, or main classroom. Attractive apple green and yellow tiles grace the porch, while blue and white ones are found on the east wall of the prayer hall. These tiles date from the mid 16th century. The 12 m (39 ft) diameter dome is supported by six red granite columns. Of the three galleries, the wooden ceiling under the west one is elaborately painted in red, blue, gold and black.^[1] The mosque is last imperial building in Istanbul to be decorated with expressly designed cuerda seca tilework. Later buildings were decorated with tiles that were painted under a clear glaze.^[2]

Gallery

• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasa Mosque courtyard with ablutions fountain
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasa Mosque porch
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasa Mosque Iznik tiles in porch
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasa Mosque Iznik tiles in porch
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque şadirvan (ablutions fountain)
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque entrance from outside
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque entrance from inside
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque domes
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque mihrab
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque conch under half-dome
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque conch
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque Iznik tiles with calligraphy
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque Iznik tiles with calligraphy
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasa Mosque arabesques under western galleries
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasa Mosque arabesques under western galleries
• 
  Gazi Ahmet Pasha Mosque mausoleum founder

See also

• List of Friday mosques designed by Mimar Sinan

References

1. Necipoğlu 2005, pp. 377–384.
2. Atasoy & Raby 1989, p. 220.

Sources

• Atasoy, Nurhan; Raby, Julian (1989). Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey. London: Alexandra Press. ISBN 978-1-85669-054-6.
• Necipoğlu, Gülru (2005). The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-86189-253-9.

External links

• Kara Ahmed Pasa Kulliyesi, Archnet
• Photographs of the mosque taken by Dick Osseman