Eyüp Sultan Mosque

Eyüp Sultan Mosque in Istanbul was among the first Ottoman mosques built after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Constructed in 1458 under Mehmed II, it was badly damaged by the 1766 earthquake and rebuilt in Ottoman Baroque style by order of Selim III in 1800. The main dome, more than 17 metres high, is surrounded by smaller semi-domes, while two tall minarets with pointed cones rise on either side. The courtyard is paved with white marble and enclosed by a covered arcade, and the walls are decorated with 16th- and 19th-century tiles and wrought Arabic inscriptions. A şadırvan for ritual ablution stands before the entrance. The mosque’s special importance comes from the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, standard-bearer of the Prophet Muhammad, and the preservation of several objects associated with the Prophet, making the complex a major pilgrimage centre.

According to legend, the water from fountains near the mosque was considered healing long before the building existed. A daughter of a Byzantine emperor learned in a dream that she would recover if she washed in this water. A tent was erected at the indicated place the next day, and the ablution supposedly cured her. The spring was revered as sacred from that time onward.