Şahkulu Mosque

Şahkulu Mosque on a narrow street in Galata borough in Beyoğlu district of Istanbul is one of the oldest Ottoman heritage in the region. Towards the end of the 1500s, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet III, known for his short period of reign with great wars both in the East and in the West, built this mosque.

In its courtyard, there is the tomb of one of the imams of the mosque of that period who is Şahkulu Mehmet Efendi, who died in 1770, almost two centuries after its construction. The name Şahkulu comes from here. The mosque, which was destroyed after a major fire in 1875, was rebuilt in its present form.

Built on a plot of 240 square meters, the mosque has a simple architecture in general. It has a small courtyard. The interior of the modestly sized Şahkulu mosque is also quite simple. Its wooden pulpit attracts attention. There are few decorations standing out.

It is known that the mosque, which existed in Galata for about 150 years, was repaired many times after 1950, and its minaret was rebuilt in 1992. It has a wooden roof and a single minaret.