Fatih Mosque, Istanbul

The Fatih Mosque is an Ottoman mosque in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. The original mosque on the site was constructed between 1463 to 1470. It was seriously damaged in the 1766 earthquake and was rebuilt in 1771 to a different design. It is one of the largest examples of Turkish-Islamic architecture in Istanbul and represents an important stage in the development of classic Turkish architecture. It is named after Ottoman sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, known in Turkish as Fatih Sultan Mehmed, the Ottoman sultan who conquered Constantinople in 1453.Sahn-ı Seman Medrese, a main center for the study of various traditional Islamic sciences such as theology, law, medicine, astronomy, physics and mathematics, was part of the Fatih Mosque and was founded by the Persian astronomer Ali Qushji who was invited by Mehmed to his court in Istanbul.HistoryThe Fatih mosque complex was a religious and social building of unprecedented size and complexity built in Istanbul between 1463-1470 by the order of Fatih Sultan Mehmed. The mosque was built on the site of the former Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles, which had been in poor condition since the Fourth Crusade, and was demolished in order for the Fatih mosque to be constructed. It was built by the Greek architect Atik Sinan. The Fatih mosque was the first monumental project in the Ottoman imperial architectural tradition.