Nuruosmaniye Mosque

Nuruosmaniye Mosque in old Istanbul, beside the Grand Bazaar, was built in the mid-18th century on the site of the burnt Fatma Hatun Mosque. Its name, meaning “Sacred Light of Osman,” was inspired by a verse from Surah An-Nur. A simple square plan with a high dome and two minarets, each with two balconies, combines Ottoman tradition with European Baroque and Rococo motifs. An elliptical courtyard, 174 windows and an unusual semi-domed mihrab create a rare sense of light and space. The complex includes a madrasa, imaret, fountain, the tomb of the sultan’s mother and a library containing manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish.

Ahmed Efendi, a secretary of the Ottoman Empire, left an account of the construction of Nuruosmaniye Mosque. He wrote that Sultan Mahmud I met a “blessed sage” at the building site, who praised the mosque and prayed that the sultan would receive divine reward. The story is written in a panegyric style and suggests that the mosque’s construction was regarded as an act of divine destiny.