A flock of pigeons circles above. The Sultan’s mosque, the Beyazid II Mosque, stands before us a testament to time. It is more than just a building. It’s a story etched in stone and faith.
Commissioned by Sultan Bayezid II, this mosque arose in the early 16th century. Its location is near the ancient Forum of Theodosius. Imagine Constantinople. The Beyazid II Mosque became the second large imperial mosque complex after the conquest of 1453.
The Fatih Mosque came first. Earthquakes destroyed it. It was rebuilt differently. The Beyazid complex is Istanbul’s oldest imperial complex. It remains largely original. This fact makes it historically and architecturally important. Construction spanned from 1500 to 1505. A külliye soon followed. This religious and charitable complex included a medrese completed in 1507. There was also a large hamam finished before 1507. An imaret a caravanserai and several mausolea were added. Bayezid II himself rests here.
The chief architect remains a mystery. Scholar Rıfkı Melûl Meriç identified Yakubşah ibn Islamşah. He used Ottoman documents mentioning architects. Yusuf ibn Papas assisted Yakubşah. He completed the medrese. The architect was a nephew of the Fatih Mosque’s Greek architect. This connection is known from a grant by Bayezid II. He acknowledged the architects’ work.
People often called it the Pigeon Mosque. This name comes from the many birds. Worshippers fed them nearby. The dome required rebuilding after the 1509 earthquake. Mimar Sinan conducted repairs in 1573–74. Fires damaged the minarets in 1683 and 1754. Lightning struck in 1743. Restoration work started in 2012. It lasted eight years. Inappropriate materials were removed. Damaged materials were cleaned or replaced. The mosque reopened in 2020.
The Beyazid II Mosque faces northwest to southeast. A courtyard sits to the northwest. Its size nearly matches the mosque itself. Monumental portals mark three sides of the courtyard. A colonnaded peristyle surrounds it. Twenty columns support it. Two columns are porphyry. Ten are verd antique. Six are pink granite. Twenty-four small domes roof it. The pavement consists of polychrome marble.
The mosque is square. It measures about 40 meters per side. The dome spans roughly 17 meters in diameter. Two semi-domes support the central dome. They run along the main axis. Two arches run along the secondary axis. Cut stone forms the mosque. Colored stones and marbles add detail.
Inside, the mosque resembles a smaller Hagia Sophia. Semi-domes to the east and west create a nave. Side aisles with four small domes extend the mosque’s width. Huge rectangular piers support the dome. Smooth pendentives and stalactite decorations adorn it. Twenty windows circle the dome’s base. Seven windows line each semi-dome. Two tiers of windows pierce the walls. A sultan’s loge stands to the mihrab’s right. Ten small marble columns support it. These columns were reused from Byzantine churches.
A broad corridor extends beyond the building’s main structure on the west side. Originally, they were four domed cells. They served as a hospice for wandering dervishes. The wings became part of the prayer hall in the sixteenth century. They now consist of three consecutive rooms. Archways separate them. The two minarets stand at the ends of these wings.
Behind the Beyazid II Mosque, a small garden contains tombs. Sultan Bayezid II, his daughter Selçuk Hatun and Grand Vizier Koca Mustafa Reşid Pasha are buried here. Mimar Sinan designed an arcade of shops in 1580. Rents supported the mosque.
In 1882, the soup kitchen became the State Library of Istanbul. It holds over 120000 books and 7000 manuscripts. The former medrese houses the Museum of Turkish Calligraphy Art. The Bayezid II Hamam is now the Museum of Turkish Hamam Culture. Fragments of sculpture are embedded in the walls. They are from the Forum of Theodosius.
The Beyazid II Mosque stands as a reminder. It recalls sultans architects and the passage of time.