Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar (İskele Mosque)
Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar (İskele Mosque) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Istanbul. Give it roughly ~30 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Istanbul Istanbul guide
About Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar (İskele Mosque)
Sinan's early masterpiece stands right by the Üsküdar ferry pier, greeting arrivals from the water. Built for Mihrimah Sultan, Suleiman's only daughter, it rehearses domes he would later perfect.
The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque at Üsküdar, also known as the İskele (Jetty) Mosque, stands beside the Üsküdar ferry landing on Istanbul's Asian shore. It was designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan and built between about 1543/44 and 1548 for Mihrimah Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and wife of Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha. Before the modern shore road was built, the mosque rose almost directly from the water.
The prayer hall is covered by a central dome flanked by three semi-domes, an early example of the centralised domed schemes Sinan developed in his later imperial mosques. A broad, deep double portico shelters a marble ablutions fountain, and two slender minarets flank the building; one carries a carved stone sundial once used for prayer timekeeping. It is the earlier of Mihrimah's two Sinan mosques and is distinct from the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque at Edirnekapı.
Did you know? One of the mosque's minarets carries a carved stone sundial. Before clocks were common, timekeepers read the shadow it cast to help fix the hours of the five daily prayers by the sun alone.
How long is a visit to Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar (İskele Mosque)?
Set aside roughly ~30 min for Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar (İskele Mosque). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar (İskele Mosque) worth your time?
Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar (İskele Mosque) is among the 40 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Istanbul, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Istanbul
Day 2 of the Istanbul in 2 days itinerary →Day 3 of the Istanbul in 3 days itinerary →
Updated:
Hear the story of Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar (İskele Mosque)
Preview the Istanbul tour free in the Gingerguide app.