Rüstem Paşa Mosque: Mimar Sinan in Tekirdağ

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1. What is Rüstem Paşa Mosque?
2. How do you get to Rüstem Paşa Mosque?
3. When is the best time to visit Rüstem Paşa Mosque?
4. What is the history of Rüstem Paşa Mosque?
5. What is Rüstem Paşa Mosque famous for?
6. What can you see at Rüstem Paşa Mosque?
7. Frequently asked questions about Rüstem Paşa Mosque
8. What do the official records say about Rüstem Paşa Mosque?

What is Rüstem Paşa Mosque?

The Rüstem Paşa Mosque is the finest Ottoman building in Tekirdağ: a single-domed mosque by Mimar Sinan, built in 1553 on a hill above the sea for Rüstem Paşa, grand vizier to Süleyman the Magnificent and husband of the sultan’s daughter Mihrimah. The 2002 inventory calls it one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.

It was the centrepiece of a complex. The library, hamam and madrasa to the east are in ruins, but the six-domed bedesten (covered market) to the west survives and was restored in 1965 by the General Directorate of Foundations.

How do you get to Rüstem Paşa Mosque?

The mosque is in the Ertuğrul quarter, in the centre of Tekirdağ, a short uphill walk from the seafront. Tekirdağ is about 135 km west of Istanbul, around two hours by road; intercity coaches arrive at the city bus station, from where local buses and taxis run to the centre.

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When is the best time to visit Rüstem Paşa Mosque?

The mosque is open to visitors outside prayer times; avoid the midday Friday prayer. Dress modestly: women should cover their hair, and everyone removes shoes before entering. Morning light shows off the courtyard and portico. Any season works, and the visit combines easily with the city’s museums and a köfte lunch on the seafront.

What is the history of Rüstem Paşa Mosque?

Rüstem Paşa was one of the most powerful men of Süleyman’s reign, twice grand vizier, and a major patron of Sinan. In Tekirdağ, then the port of Rodosto on the road from Istanbul to the Balkans, he commissioned a mosque complex with a covered market. The building inscription sits in a large panel under the muqarnas of the portal, and a repair inscription dated 1841 is above the mihrab niche on the right.

The bedesten, the covered market of the complex, was restored by the General Directorate of Foundations in 1965. The library, hamam and madrasa that stood to the east were not restored and survive only as ruins.

What is Rüstem Paşa Mosque famous for?

• Mimar Sinan. It is the main work in Tekirdağ by the architect of Istanbul’s Süleymaniye Mosque.
• Its hilltop setting above the sea.
• The bedesten, a rare surviving Ottoman covered market with six domes.

What can you see at Rüstem Paşa Mosque?

The courtyard. You enter through a portal into a courtyard with a pentagonal şadırvan (ablution fountain) under a lead-covered roof.

The double portico. On the north side, a double portico for latecomers extends beyond the width of the prayer hall. The outer portico has a timber roof; the inner one is covered by a cross vault in the middle and two domes on each side.

The portal. The main door has a rectangular border and muqarnas (stalactite) carving, with the building inscription set in a large panel beneath.

The prayer hall. A square space under a single dome, with squinches making the transition from square to circle. Pointed-arched niches between the corner piers give the plan its movement. The dome, braced outside by buttresses around its drum, has no decoration other than a plaster relief of a flower wreath, and light comes from windows in the walls and the drum.

The minaret. Polygonal, with a single balcony, to the right of the portal on the northwest corner.

The bedesten. The six-domed covered market to the west of the mosque, restored in 1965.

Other mosques in Tekirdağ

Eski Cami. Built in 1830 by Ahmet Ağa, Tekirdağ’s superintendent of grain supplies; its architect is unknown. It is long, rectangular and two-storeyed, with galleries on three sides of the prayer hall and a circular muezzin’s gallery projecting from the middle. Its minbar pediment is decorated with curling branches and flowers, and the octagonal şadırvan in the garden carries curtain motifs and an inscription band.

Orta Cami. Built between 1845 and 1855 by Kürkçü Sinan Ağa. The capitals of its engaged piers are decorated with acanthus leaves and garlands, the names of the caliphs are written on panels above them, and the Baroque-style mihrab is framed by acanthus-leaf pilasters.

Frequently asked questions about Rüstem Paşa Mosque

What do the official records say about Rüstem Paşa Mosque?

The mosque in Ertuğrul Mahallesi was built in 1553 by Rüstem Paşa, son-in-law of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, on a hill overlooking the sea. One of the most beautiful buildings in the city, it is a work of Mimar Sinan.

The square space is covered by a dome, and the transition to the dome is made with squinches. Pointed-arched niches between the load-bearing piers in the corners give movement to the square plan. The dome, whose drum is supported outside by buttresses, has no decoration apart from a plaster relief of a flower wreath. The mosque is lit by windows in the walls of the main space and in the drum of the dome. The library, hamam and madrasa to the east are in ruins. The six-domed bedesten to the west is intact and was restored in 1965 by the General Directorate of Foundations. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Tekirdağ Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)