Rüstem Pasha Mosque

From the street, Rüstem Pasha Mosque hardly announces itself. It stands in Tahtakale, the tight commercial quarter behind the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul's old city, lifted on a high terrace above a block of vaulted shops whose rents were meant to pay for its upkeep. You reach it by narrow flights of stairs tucked into the corners, climbing out of the noise of the market into a small courtyard — and then, under the double porch, the tiles begin. For many people this compact building is the most beautiful interior in the city.

The mosque was built for Rüstem Pasha, grand vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent and husband of the sultan's daughter Mihrimah. He died in 1561; Suleiman authorised the project the following year, and the imperial architect Mimar Sinan completed it around 1563. Sinan gave it a characteristically clever plan: an octagon set inside a rectangle, its central dome carried on four half-domes, with a single minaret. It is a modest size by the standards of Sinan's imperial mosques, and that is part of the point — the building is a setting for its decoration.

Some 2,300 İznik tiles in around 80 patterns cover the porch facade, the walls, the mihrab and the minbar. Floral designs spread over the walls, mixed with geometric panels, and one panel shows a view of the Kaaba in Mecca. What makes these tiles historically important is the red: they show one of the earliest uses of Armenian bole, a vivid tomato-red pigment. In the dim interior the colours glow rather than shine, and a slow walk around the walls, pier by pier, is the best way to see how many different designs Sinan's patrons commissioned. A restoration of the building was completed in 2021.

Getting there

The mosque stands in the Tahtakale quarter of the Fatih district, a few minutes' walk from Eminönü and the Spice Bazaar. Istanbul Airport (IST) is about 35 km away. It is an active mosque, so visits are best planned outside prayer times, with shoulders and knees covered and a headscarf for women.