New Valide Mosque

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Native name: Yeni Valide Camii

New Valide mosque is located on the south of Mihrimah Sultan Mosque , at the other side of the square . It was built between 1708-1710 by Gulnus Emetullah Valide Sultan , mother of Ahmet III . The timber Hunkar Kiosk belongs to Classical period architecture in continuum of westernization and was added to the mosque later . There is an inner atrium having a sadirvan (water-tank with a fountain) and surrounded with stoas . The main area has a rectangular plan that is covered in the middle with a center dome . The pews are covered with mirrored squinches and are carried on elegant columns which are connected by archways . The corners of the square planned middle area that is covered by the dome were lightened by squinches . The tomb of Gulnus Emetullah Valide Sultan who built the mosque is located on Hakimiyeti Milliye Avenue .

New Valide mosque is the last imperial mosque to be built in the classical style . The construction works began in 1597 by Valide Safiye Sultan , the mother of Mehmet III , but was suspended after her death in 1603 . It was only resumed later during the period of Mehmet IV (1648-87) in 1661 by means of his mother Hatice Turhan Sultan and completed in 1664 . The mosque was originally designed by Dauod Aga , a student of the great architect Sinan and was completed by architect Mustafa . Aga .

The mosque is part of a complex that originally consisted of a hospital , a primary school and hamam (Turkish bath) , however not all of these buildings survived till today . The Misir Çarsisi or Egyptian Spice Market , was also originally constructed to be part of the complex .

The mosque has a rectangular plan that measures 35m x 41m . It has a main dome with a diameter of 17 . 5m and is supported by half-domes along the four sides . Because the dome is kept very high on the building together with the other structure’s elements , the whole building has a pyramid-like appearance from the outside . The interior of the mosque is mostly decorated with blue-green tiles and pen crafts that show the most beautiful examples of 17th century ornaments which can be found also in Sultanahmet Mosque .

At the south of the mosque , there are tombs across the street belonging to Hatice Turhan Sultan and six other Ottoman sultans: Mehmet IV (1648¬87) , Mustafa II (1695-1703) , Ahmet III (1703-30) , Mahmet I (1730-54) , Osman III (1754-57) and Murat V (1876) . At the graveyards , there are graves of many Sehzade and sultans as well .