Rustem Pasa Mosque

The dome of Rustem Pasa Mosque

RUSTEM PASA MOSQUE

Rustem Pasa Mosque was designed by Mimar Sinan ("Sinan the Architect") for Grand Vizier, Rüstem Pasha (who married one of the daughters of Suleiman the Magnificent, Princess Mihrimah).

Its building took place from 1561 to 1563. The plan of the mosque consists of an octagon inscribed in a rectangle. The dome rests on four semi-domes; not on the axes but in the diagonals of the building.

The arches of the dome spring from four octagonal pillars (two on the north, two on the south) and from piers projecting from the east and west walls. To the north and south are galleries supported by pillars and by small marble columns between them.

The Mosque is especially famous for its very fine tiles, set in beautiful floral and geometric designs which almost cover the walls, not only on the interior but also on the façade of the porch. One should also climb to the galleries where the tiles are of a different pattern.

Like all the great Turkish tiles, those of Rustem Pasa came from the kilns of Iznik in its greatest period (c.1555 – 1620) and they show the tomato-red or ‘Armenian bole’, which is characteristic of that period.

These exquisite tiles, in every conceivable floral and geometric design, cover not only the walls, but also the columns, mihrab, and mimber. Altogether they make one of the most beautiful and striking mosque interiors in the city.