Yeni Valide Mosque
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The Yeni Valide Mosque is a mosque built in the sixteenth century in the Eminonu district of Istanbul, Turkey.
First constructed in the sixteenth century, Istanbul's Yeni Valide Mosque endures as the legacy of the Valide Sultans. The most powerful women of the Ottoman Empire developed and executed plans for the mosque, situated in the highly commercial district of Eminonu. Work began in 1597, under Safiye Sultan. She oversaw the project until the death of her son, Sultan Mehmed III, in 1603.
[edit] History
Although the Safiye Sultan spearheaded the building process, it was largely overlooked by her successor, Valide Koseme. Indeed, the project did not receive support until 1660 under Valide Turhan. Throughout the building process, the work was tended by three different architects. Davut Pasha and Dalgic Ahmed Cavus began the project under Safiye Sultan, and Kasim Agha is credited with its completion. The mosque was finished in 1663, and inaugurated in 1665 with a royal pavilion, royal mausoleum, a primary school, and a market. The mausoleum holds the remains of the Valide Turhan, as well as five sultans and various members of the court.
The development of the project was not without logistical problems; indeed, the mosque’s intermittent construction over the course of sixty-six years reflects that. From an engineering standpoint, the proposed site along the Golden Horn was not one that would be conducive with heavy construction. The tremendous weight of the foundation, bearing down upon the soft shores of the Bosphorus, created water seepage; Davut Pasha brilliantly addressed the problem by pumping the water out and continuing with construction.
The project was further hampered by political disconnect, and its location and monetary implications created dissent amid the court and beyond. The Eminonu neighborhood was the city’s foremost commercial center, and home to a predominantly Jewish population. In situating the mosque there, Safiye Sultan hoped to extend the sphere of Islamic influence within the city. Furthermore, the growing discontent amid local and foreign merchants likely gave the Sultan an easy justification for confiscating the property. According to scholar Lucienne Thys-Senocak, Muslim merchants resented the growing power and influence of their Jewish counterparts; likewise, the Venetian merchants believed that the Jews held a monopoly on certain commodities. For the Safiye Sultan, building a mosque in the neighborhood gave the Ottomans a greater influence over the commercial hub.
Despite her efforts to legitimize the mosque, the monetary investment associated with the development and the construction drew sharp criticism. The Janissaries—the elite military guard of the Ottoman Empire—were opposed to the growing power of the Valide Sultan, and believed the mosque to be an unnecessary expenditure of funds. Safiye Sultan persevered, but was forced to abandon the project upon Mehmet III’s death. With her stature diminished, Safiye Sultan was relegated to the harem and the construction was thusly abandoned.
[edit] Completion
The Yeni Valide languished until the imperial architect Mustafa Aga suggested that Valide Turhan finish the work of her predecessor. Valide Turhan, like Safiye Sultan, likely intended to impart a Muslim influence on the lucrative area. Indeed, the mosque transformed the Eminonu neighborhood. The mosque boasts sixty-six domes and semi domes, as well as two minarets. The main dome measures thirty-six meters in height, and is supported by four flanking semi-domes. The interior is constructed largely of marble, and adorned with mother-of-pearl inlay and colored tile. Designed as a kulliye, or complex, the mosque and its adjacent structures service both religious and cultural needs.
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