FATIH MOSQUE

This was the first Turkish mosque built after the conquest. The main building was completed in seven years (1463-1470). The architect Atic Sinan built the largest kulliye in Ottoman Art History. The kulliye consisted of medreses, Kervansaray, hamam, a hospital, baths, a kitchen for the poor, a library, and a Koranic school. The Kulliye has been preserved in its original form. The original mosque was destroyed in the great earthquake of 22 May 1766. Mustafa II undertook its reconstruction and the present building was completed in 1771. The mosque has a very large central dome 26 meters in diameter. The painted decoration is fussy in detail and dull in color. The mihrab is from the original building. In the graveyard, behind the mosque, are the tombs of Sultan Mehmet and his wife Gulbahar.