Koça Mustafa Pasha Mosque

The Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque in Istanbul's Fatih district was, for more than a thousand years, the Byzantine church of Saint Andrew in Krisei, dedicated to Andrew of Crete. The original church reached back to the 5th century and was rebuilt several times under the Komnenoi and Palaiologoi; what stands today is largely late 12th century. Around 1500 the grand vizier Koca Mustafa Pasha converted it into a mosque, adding a minaret and a forecourt, and giving the building its current name. The axis of the prayer hall was twisted away from the Byzantine ground plan to align the mihrab with Mecca - inside, this odd geometry is immediately visible. Today the mosque sits off the tourist trail in the conservative Cerrahpasa neighbourhood, used mainly by neighbours for Friday prayers; you rarely see western visitors.