A MOSQUE IN ISTANBUL REMEMBERED, BUT ITS NAME FORGOTTEN

ON OUR LAST visit to Istanbul at least 15 years ago, we visited a small but attractive mosque in Üsküdar (the Asian part of Istanbul). During our present holiday in the city (in April 2024), we hoped to see this mosque again, but we had forgotten its name.

After having waited for the midday Friday prayers to be over at the Atik Valide Mosque, we looked around this edifice that was designed by the famous architect Mimar Sinan in 1583-1584. Incidentally, to reach this building, we climbed a steep staircase with 114 steps – a so-called short cut. Apart from its fine architectural form, the mosque is adorned with several lovely tiled plaques covered with Arabic calligraphy intertwined with the occasional flower.

As we were leaving the mosque’s enclosed compound, a man stopped us, and told us in broken English that we should visit another mosque in the neighbourhood. He said it had beautiful tiling, and it’s name is Çinili. When we heard the name, we remembered that was the mosque, whose name we had forgotten.

Çinili mosque

After climbing another hill, we reached the Çinili mosque. Completed in 1640, it is not as fine architecturally as buildings by Sinan. However, it’s interior is lined with intricately decorated tiling. Unfortunately, the mosque was locked up, but by peering through the windows we got a good impression of the magnificent tiling. The wall of the covered porch in which the main entrance can be found is also covered with beautiful tiling. What we saw was what we remembered from our first visit there at least 15 years ago. We were very grateful that a complete stranger reminded us of the name of the place that we remembered, but whose name we could not recall.

PS both mosques mentioned above were connected with a Valide Sultan – that is with the mother of a reigning Sultan.