New Mosque

The Yeni Cami, or New Mosque, dominates Eminoenue square at the southern end of the Golden Horn, beside the Spice Bazaar and the foot of the Galata Bridge. Sultan Mehmed III's mother began the building in 1597, but it was the mother of Mehmed IV who finally inaugurated it in 1665, hence the alternative name Valide Sultan Mosque. Court architects Davut Aga and later Mustafa Aga completed the classic Ottoman scheme of a central dome flanked by four half-domes. The interior is famous for bright Iznik tile panels and an imperial loge the sultan could enter directly from his palace. Because flocks of pigeons fill the forecourt, locals also know it as the Pigeon Mosque.