Mihrimah Sultan Mosque

The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque located in the Edirnekapı neighborhood near the Byzantine land walls of Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned by Mihrimah Sultan, the daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the chief imperial architect Mimar Sinan. Sited on the peak of the Sixth Hill near the highest point of the city, the mosque is a prominent landmark in Istanbul.

The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in Edirnekapı is the second and larger of two mosques commissioned by Mihrimah Sultan, the only daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent. It was designed by Mimar Sinan. There is no foundation inscription on the mosque but the evidence from surviving manuscripts suggests that the building work started in 1563 and was completed by 1570. On several occasions the mosque has been damaged by earthquakes. In 1719 some of the stairs in the minaret were destroyed; in 1766, the earthquake of that year let collapse the minaret and the main dome of the mosque; in the severe 1894 earthquake the minaret collapsed again and came crashing down on the north west corner of the mosque. Although efforts were made to restore the mosque itself, its attendant buildings received less attention. The dome was further damaged during 1999 İzmit earthquake. In the first phase of the restoration undertaken between 2007 and 2010 the mosque and the upper part of the minaret were repaired. The second phase involved paving the courtyard, restoring the central fountain and rebuilding an outer portico. The mosque originally had a double portico but only the inner part had survived.

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