John Briones

GS 399
Presentation 1: Rstem Pasha Mosque OUTLINE
1. Introduction to the Building
a. Start off in the middle of the Spice Market
b. To find it, you should have your back to the Galata Bridge
c. The mosque should be to the right of the Spice Market
d. From here, you have two options for your next move
i. Keep walking out of the Spice Market alley that is parallel to the water and you
then will be in Hasirilar Carsisi which will lead you the corner of Mahkeme Sk
where you will find the mosque
ii. Walk across the plaza to the right of the Spice Market, through the car park and
turn left into Mahkeme Sk. The mosque will be on your left.
e. Comment: I would like to use this introduction because it would be a fun way to
introduce the mosque and also be interactive. In addition, a lot of people do not see the
Rstem Pasha Mosque because it does have a hidden entrance because it is supported
by the market below, etc.
2. About Rstem Pasha
a. Born about 1500, Bosnian by birth, son-in-law and grand vezir of the Sultan Sleyman
the Magnificent.
b. It is rumored that he and the Sultans wife (Roxelana) to denounce Prince Mustafa, the
heir to the throne, in a plan to dethrone the sultan.
i. In return, Sleyman had Mustafa beheaded, and Roxelanas incompetent son
(Prince Selim) came to succeed the throne Pasha didnt even get the result he
wanted!!
ii. Selim (the Sot) did ascend to the throne upon Sleymans death; this reign is
considered the end of the great period of the Ottoman Empire, and the
beginning its long decline (*Now that we have learned some history, lets get
back to the actual building itself!*)
c. Pasha was among the wealthiest men in the Ottoman Empire during his time, which was
also during the time of the height of Ottoman power, yet he was known by the emperor
as a humble servant.
i. Pasha was not very popular with the people: he had been part of the janissary
(Turkish infantry, which later formed the Sultans guard), he was born in Bosnia,
apparently from the Croatian origin, but was mainly not liked because he was
able to give the sultan an effective tax policy.
ii. Being the emperors vezir, he could not build an amazing mosque that could
possibly challenge the emperors mosque.
iii. He chose a site in the middle of the market at the foot of the hill which just so
happens to be next to Sleymans grand mosque (the Sleymaniye), which is the
largest in Istanbul.
iv. Pasha wanted exquisite and amazing artistic refinement, and when we enter the
Pasha Rstem Mosque, you will see that he got what he wanted

d. He was smart by establishing an endowment that could fund the upkeep of the mosque.
This endowment was fed by rent payers that lived and worked below the mosque in the
shops.
3. The Rstem Pasha Mosque
a. The mosque was not actually finished until after Pasha died, roughly a year after, so he
did not get to see the end product, but most likely it would have satisfied his needs.
b. Built by Sinan the Great Ottoman architect, it is one of VERY FEW mosques/buildings in
the city that is completely covered on the inside by tiles and largely covered on the
exterior as well.
i. It is unknown whether it was Sinans idea or Pashas idea to cover the mosque in
tiles, though it was (no doubt) a brilliant and unique idea!
c. There is also a question whether the mosque was actually built by Pasha or by his wife, a
daughter to the Sultan.
d. Entrance: Clearly the entrance is unique because mosques usually have a courtyard
where people can enter, but for this one, you walk up a winding staircase and reach the
double portico, which changes the outside view of the mosque.
i. In addition, there is no narthex, meaning no place for people to gather and
transition from daily life to religious spirituality, just the double portico
(basically a covered area outside the mosque).
e. Building Plan
i. In some ways, it looks very familiar to other mosques, but is unique in its own
ways.
ii. Most mosques are built on the square plan, however this mosque is built on the
octahedral plan, meaning that the Naos, which can usually have a square drawn
in, can now have an octagon drawn in.
iii. In addition, you can notice that the half domes are not in a cross and square
plan, but that they can be formed in an x-shape. (cardinal points vs. corners)
iv. Also notice the squinches (not pendentives!) on the on the supports as they lead
up to the dome and multiple semi/half-domes.
f. The Mosque Design/Decoration
i. Exterior
1. The exterior has tiles on it as well, but not as many as the interior does.
2. The mosque is large (no doubt), but it is difficult to find the entrance,
which is where most of the outer tile design can be seen.
3. Next to the Mihrab (the inlet that shows the direction towards mecca)
on the wall of the mosque, a special tile can be seen that shows the
Kaaba in Mecca in the center with buildings around it, and it reminds us
the orientation and direction towards Mecca, which is VERY important.
4. There are also certain motifs on the exterior that are influenced by
Chinese art.
a. MIXING OF CULTURES***
ii. Interior
1. You want to look more at the walls (the tiles) more than the ceilings
(arches and domes) because the main attraction is all at eye level.

2. The tiles many shades of blues and greens, and even reds, which were
very hard to make during this time and only the best tile makers were
able to produce the red colors. There are roughly 80 different patterns!
a. The tile design uses a lot of tulips; tulips were a big art form
during this time with the Ottoman artists, and these flowers are
hard to recognize due to the ashaz style (flowers that are so
highly stylized, its hard to recognize the original, natural form it
was based off of.), that was so popular during this time.
b. The tiles have a good amount of white on them as well, so they
are able to reflect the sunlight that beams in through the
windows coming in from the sides and domes, which can make
it very bright and beautiful on the inside during the day.
c. Soon after this time, tile quality was not as good and tiles were
no longer used (possibly why there not many others in the city).
3. Another thing that adds to this mosques identity is the low-hanging
chandelier, or otherwise called lantern. Your eyes will see the lowhanging lantern and follow it up to the central dome where it is hung
from.
4. It is said that this mosque brings an interesting, yet peaceful and
spiritual feeling when entering, due to the bright shining tiles and
spaciousness near the mirab.