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The Rüstem Pasha Mosque (Turkish: Rüstem Paşa Camii) is an Ottoman mosque near the Spice Bazaar located in the Hasırcılar Çarşısı (Strawmat Weavers Market) in the Tahtakale neighborhood of the Fatih district, Istanbul, Turkey. Named for Rüstem Pasha, who served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Suleiman I, it was designed by the Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan and completed in around 1563.

History

Rüstem Pasha

The Rüstem Pasha Islamic cultural center was designed by Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan for the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha. Pasha was the husband of one of the daughters of Suleiman the Magnificent by Hurrem Sultan, Mihrimah Sultan, and served as Grand Vizier (a role comparable to a European prime minister) from 1544 to 1553 and from 1555 to 1561. In this capacity, Pasha effected marked changes on the economy of the Ottoman state. His economic regime focused on developing the Ottoman economy internally and reducing ties and dependence with Christian Europe, which he was hostile to. His approach to commerce resulted in the discontinuation of trading practices developed under Pasha’s predecessor and confusion throughout the Empire, where Pasha’s attempts to decentralize trade empowered local leaders, limiting the efficacy of the Grand Vizier’s attempts to cut off trade with the Portuguese and Venetians. A committed Sunni Muslim, Pasha had commissioned a number of important buildings in the Empire by the end of his life, including religious schools, mosques, and other structures. Prior to his death in 1561, Pasha hoped to construct a final mosque of his own in Istanbul — in part to repair his controversial legacy — though the extent to which he had outlined his intentions for the eponymous mosque remains ambiguous. Sultan Suleiman I authorized the project after the Grand Vizier’s passing. It was assigned to the Ottoman’s chief architect, Mimar Sinan. Sinan designed a number of great mosques during his decades-long career, including the Süleymaniye Complex and the Selimiye Mosque.

Dating the Mosque

Efforts to date the Rüstem Pasha Mosque have been fruitful, though not conclusive, in part because of the lack of a foundation document (known as a vakfiye). Michael D. Willis’ analysis of the İznik tiles characteristic of the mosque indicated that the tiles date to 1555. Other sources suggest that some of the tiles could have been crafted after Rüstem Pasha’s 1561 death. He further concluded that the mosque was completed by 1561. More recent analyses of primary sources by Leslie Meral Schick determined that the mosque was likely built between 1561 and 1563. Plans for the mosque were only set in motion beginning in 1561, and deeds for the purchase of land date to 1562. One water deed implies that the mosque was incomplete in December 1562, so the Friday mosque was likely only operational in 1563 or 1564.

Usage

The Rüstem Pasha Mosque was originally designed as a Friday mosque, as reflected in Suleiman’s ferman (his imperial command ordering construction of the mosque). More recently, it was used for film storage. In May 2016, it closed for renovations.

Architecture

Exterior

The mosque was built on a high terrace over a complex of vaulted shops in a busy Istanbul bazaar, whose rents were intended to financially support the mosque complex. Narrow, twisting interior flights of steps in the corners give access to a spacious courtyard. The mosque has a double porch with five domed bays, from which projects a deep and low roof supported by a row of columns.

Interior

Sinan’s architecture is known for emphasizing the structure of his buildings over the internal aesthetics, such as the tiling. The Rüstem Pasha Mosque marked a substantial deviation from his typical style (and traditional Ottoman architecture) as it relied heavily on İznik tiling instead of having a more sparse interior. The Anatolian town of İznik was the heart of the Ottoman ceramics industry, which became a central component of the empire’s artistic production after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. While it has been theorized that the tiling may have been inspired by Sinan’s wife Mihrimah, it could also be that Rüstem Pasha himself requested the tiling for economic reasons and to support a court artist specializing in floral designs.

The Rüstem Pasha Mosque is famous for its large quantities of İznik tiles, set in a very wide variety of floral and geometric designs, which cover not only the façade of the porch but also the mihrab, minbar and walls. There are approximately 2300 tiles arranged in around 80 different patterns. These tiles exhibit the early use of Armenian bole, a tomato-red pigment that would become characteristic of İznik pottery. While this red hue is applied more thinly on most of the tiles, it was applied heavily on the tiles near the qibla wall and appeared scarlet in color. The bright emerald green colour is only used in a panel added above an exterior doorway at a later date. Some of the tiles, particularly those in a large panel under the portico to the left main entrance, are decorated with sage green and dark manganese purple that are characteristic of the earlier 'Damascus ware' coloring scheme. Yet the mosque’s tiling does not feature the olive green found to be characteristic of Damascus tiles. No other mosque makes such a lavish use of Iznik tiles; with later mosques Sinan used files more sparingly.

According to Willis, some of the tiles at the Rüstem Pasha Mosque are of European origin (specifically Italian and Dutch) and also date to the eighteenth century.

External videos
Mimar Sinan, Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul, 1561-63, Smarthistory

The plan of the building is basically that of an octagon inscribed in a rectangle. The main 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.