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Rüstem Pasha Mosque. Photo by AndEggs.

Top 10 Intriguing Facts about Rüstem Pasha Mosque

The Rüstem Paşa Mosque is a two-story structure. The first floor houses a vaulted warehouse, while the second floor houses the mosque, which consists of a rectangular domed prayer hall surrounded by a double portico. An arcade of nine broad pointed arches provides access to the warehouse on the first story of the main facade (northwestern).

Two towers flank this arcade, each housing a staircase leading to the second story. A parapet of thirteen smaller arches encircles the nine-arched arcade on the first floor. Ascending the stairs, one enters the second story on the open-air porch, which has an arcade parapet and overlooks the street below.

Behind this is the portico’s U-shaped outer section, which is covered by a sloping roof. Beyond this is the inner portico, which consists of five domed bays facing the mosque’s prayer hall.

1. The mosque is in the Süleymaniye, near the banks of the Golden Horn

Rüstem Pasha Mosque. Photo by Travel Coffee Book.

Before the conquest of Istanbul, the site was occupied by a Byzantine church, which Haci Halil Aa converted to a mosque in the fifteenth/ninth century AH. The mosque rises above its dense surroundings because it is built on a vaulted substructure that once housed warehouses, fitting for the neighborhood’s mercantile surroundings. A cemetery is located to the west of the mosque, and a square was later added behind its qibla wall.

2. Rustem Pasha Mosque was recently used for film storage

Rustem Pasha Mosque. Photo by Dosseman.

Suleiman’s ferman indicates that the Rüstem Pasha Mosque was originally intended as a Friday mosque (his imperial command ordering construction of the mosque). It was recently used for film storage. After extensive restoration, it reopened for worship in 2021.

3. The mosque was constructed on a high terrace above a cluster of vaulted shops

Rüstem Pasha Mosque. Photo by AndEggs.

Because of its elevation, it is a more visible part of the Istanbul skyline. Narrow, twisted interior flights of steps in the corners lead to a large courtyard. The mosque features a double porch with five domed bays, from which a deep and low roof supported by a row of columns projects.

4. The Rüstem Pasha Mosque is well-known for its abundance of iznik tiles

Ceramic tiles in Rüstem Pasha mosque, Istanbul, Turkey. Photo by Till Niermann.

In a wide range of floral and geometric designs that cover not only the porch’s facade but also the mihrab, minbar, and walls. There are about 2300 tiles arranged in 80 different patterns. These tiles show the early use of Armenian bole, a tomato-red pigment that would become synonymous with iznik pottery. While the red hue was applied thinly on the majority of the tiles, it was heavily applied on the tiles near the qibla wall and appeared scarlet.

5. The Rüstem Pasha Mosque is essentially an octagon inscribed in a rectangle

Rüstem Pasha Mosque. Photo by Travel Coffee Book.

The main dome is supported by four semi-domes that run diagonally across the building rather than along its axes. The dome’s arches are supported by four octagonal pillars, two on the north and two on the south, as well as piers projecting from the east and west walls. Galleries to the north and south are supported by pillars with small marble columns between them.

6. Fire destroyed the mosque in 1660, and an earthquake destroyed it in 1766

In both cases, the damage was repaired right away. The religious foundation organized a 1960-1961 restoration that removed nineteenth-century Baroque frescoes layered over the surfaces of the four semi-domes on the sides of the octagon. The Rüstem Pasa Mosque was recently restored between 1964 and 1969 and now serves as both a mosque and a monument.

7. A mihrab shaped like a half- dodecagon is set into the wall of the Rüstem Pasha mosque

A panel with calligraphy sits between the two mihrab frames, and three windows are above them. Because the repeating tile patterns are shaped to conform to the mosque’s structure, many are cut in unusual and arbitrary ways. When the mihrab tiles reach the floor, for example, the bottoms are cut arbitrarily. The lack of a foundation causes an abrupt transition from tiling to floor.

8. The lack of documentation has made dating the Rüstem Pasha Mosque difficult

Other sources speculate that some of them were created after Rüstem Pasha’s death in 1561. Leslie Meral Schick’s recent primary source analysis determined that the mosque was most likely built between 1561 and 1563. Plans for the mosque were only put in motion in 1561, and land purchase deeds date from 1562. According to one water deed, the mosque was unfinished in December 1562, so it was most likely not operational until 1563 or 1564.

9. The Rüstem Pasha Mosque’s qibla wall features a number of new and experimental painting styles

In addition to the traditional ceramic tiles, the Rüstem Pasha Mosque’s qibla wall features a number of new and experimental painting styles. This is consistent with the mosque’s distinct emphasis on Iznik tiles and parallels other Sinan-designed structures, such as the Süleymaniye Complex. According to Walter B. Denny, this could have been “deemed a project too large for one designer,” and that several other aspiring architects supplemented Sinan’s contributions.

The qibla wall is mostly made up of blue tiles in various shades, including turquoise and cobalt. Some Armenian bole is used as an “accent,” contributing to the overall blue theme in this section of the mosque. These tiles appear to be “repeating modules” and were not custom-made for the Rüstem Pasha Mosque. The Rüstem Pasha Border, which consists of cobalt tiles, a white rosace, and turquoise embellishments and repeats throughout the mosque, is emblematic.

This section’s tiles feature rose buds, lotus palmettes, and leaves, in keeping with the floral decoration found throughout the mosque. Despite these details, the qibla tiling is relatively simple: most of the details are painted with only two shades of blue (known as “two-blue” painting), resulting in a somewhat monotonous presentation.

10. Named after Rüstem Pasha, the Ottoman Empire’s Grand Vizier under Sultan Suleiman I

Who was an Ottoman statesman who served as Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent’s Grand Vizier? As a result of his marriage to the sultan’s daughter, Mihrimah Sultan, in 1539, Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha (the epithet dam at means’son-in-law). He is regarded as one of the Ottoman Empire’s most powerful and successful grand viziers.

Rustem Pasha was taken as a child to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), where he rose through the ranks of the military and the bureaucracy. He married Mihrimah Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Suleiman I and his wife Hurrem Sultan, on November 26, 1539. Sinan Pasha, his brother, was an Ottoman grand admiral.