Fatih Istanbul Mosque

The Fatih Mosque in Istanbul's Fatih district was built by Sultan Mehmed II, known as the Conqueror (Fatih), as the central building of a monumental kulliye complex. The original structure by the architect Atik Sinan was erected between 1463 and 1470 on the site of the demolished Church of the Holy Apostles, the burial place of the Byzantine emperors. The mosque was thus a religious-political statement: the new Muslim heart of the conquered city. A severe earthquake destroyed the dome in 1766, and today's building is a reconstruction in classical Ottoman style begun under Mustafa III in 1771. The tomb of Mehmed II stands beside the mosque and is still visited by Turkish pilgrims. The complex originally included eight madrasas, a hospital, a caravanserai and a soup kitchen; several of these buildings survive.