Ever wonder about a mosque that shares its name with a neighborhood? This is the Cicekci Camii. We’re standing in the Cicekci district of Istanbul. Here before us stands a beautiful testament to history and faith.
The Cicekci Camii also known as Küçük Selimiye Camii holds several names. You might hear it called Selimiye Tekkesi or even Behçet-i Konevi Camii. Its location is quite specific too. It sits on Tunusbağı Caddesi near Selimiye Camii Sokagi and Şair Nesimi Sokak.
Look to the right of the Cicekci Camii. You will spot a fountain. It is Sultan III Selim Cesmesi. It dates back to 1802-1803. Not far from there is the Ayşe Hatun Namazgahı built around 1767-1768.
The famous Cicekci Kahvesi used to sit beside this Namazgah. Across from the Cicekci Camii lies the Karacaahmet Cemetery. Many statesmen poets and calligraphers rest here.
Construction on the Cicekci Camii began in 1801. It was completed on April 5 1805. This site was designed as a tekke for the Nakşibendi order. The first sheikh of this tekke was Abdullah Efendi from Kangiri.
About 30 years later in 1835 Şair Pertev Paşa renovated the Cicekci Camii. He gave it its current form. Additional structures were added including a sheikh’s house and dervish cells. These wooden buildings deteriorated over time. They were eventually replaced by private constructions.
III Selim commissioned the Cicekci Camii between 1801 and 1805. The complex included a muvakkithane a school a bath and residences. This Selimiye Tekkesi was part of a larger complex.
After 1823 the tekke fell into disrepair. Mahmud II restored it between 1834 and 1836. The architectural program included the mosque a royal pavilion and a library. The library was a charitable work of Pertev Mehmed Said Paşa.
Units like the harem dervish cells and kitchen disappeared after 1925. The royal pavilion vanished after the 1930s. Stones from other tekkes were moved here during hospital expansions in the 1940s.
In 1885-86 the tekke housed seventeen men and five women. It operated under the Nakşibendi order. After Abdullah Efendi’s departure in 1807 Şeyh Ni’metullah Buhari took over. Konya’s Şeyh Ali Behcet Efendi a prominent figure also served here.
Selimiye Tekkesi represents urban planning of its time. It sits at the edge of the Selimiye district and Karacaahmet Cemetery. The perimeter wall features a monumental gate. An inscription commemorates Mahmud II’s restoration.
Inside another inscription mentions a dream during the tekke’s construction. A window to the left of the gate is a prayer window for Şeyh Ali Behcet Efendi’s tomb. Other windows belong to his successors’ tombs.
The Cicekci Camii’s prayer hall measures 17.50 by 12 meters. Walls combine rubble stone and brick. A hipped roof covers the structure. Two doors exist one for the congregation and one possibly for the sultan.
Inside symmetrical walls feature a mihrab niches and windows. Upper levels include a royal box and a muezzin’s platform. Surprisingly there is no women’s gallery.
The minaret at the northwest corner features a simple design. The royal pavilion once added a civil architecture touch with its wooden walls. Today the library’s books are housed in the Süleymaniye Library.
So as you stand before the Cicekci Camii remember its layered history. From its founding by Selim III to its restoration and role as a tekke this mosque is a treasure.