ARCHITECT SINAN (KOCA MIMAR SINAN)

OTTOMAN ARCHITECTS

THE BALYAN FAMILY

THE FOSSATI BROTHERS

Dolmabahçe Mosque

Dolmabahçe Mosque, also called the Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan Mosque was built along with the Dolmabahce Palace in neo-classical and imperial style, and located in the south of Dolmabahce Palace. Originally the Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan, mother of Sultan Abüulmecid I, commissioned this mosque, but after her death, it was continued by Sultan Abdülmecid I. Its architect was Garabet Balyan and he completed the Mosque in 1855. The mosque has rectangular shaped two-storey royalty section and an obvious geometric structure with its 25 x 25 m base. As it was the part of the palace complex, it contains a front section, in which the state officials and sovereign could worship and a two-storey section for the sovereign suitable for the public procession of the Sultan to the mosque on Fridays. Dolmabahçe Mosque has two minarets just with a single balcony and a single dome resting on a square floor. The interior part has a decoration having a mixture of Ampere and Baroque styles. Mimbar (pulpit) and Mihrab (niche) is made of red porphyry and decorated with European patterns. The light from the large windows contributes to the beauty of the colorful marble interior decoration.