Ortaköy Mosque

Overview

White stone carved like lace, two needle-thin minarets and, right behind, the huge towers of the Bosphorus Bridge: Ortaköy Mosque is a classic view of the Bosphorus. It sits at the very edge of the water, on the pier square of an old village.

Although small inside, Ortaköy Mosque is rich in detail, a 19th-century jewel of Ottoman Baroque. The square around it is lively, so it makes a fine evening stop.

Ortaköy Mosque, the Postcard of the Bosphorus

Ortaköy Mosque, officially the Büyük Mecidiye Camii, stands on the pier square of Ortaköy in the Beşiktaş district, on the European shore of the Bosphorus. Sultan Abdülmecid I commissioned it, and its inscription dates it to 1854. Today, the mosque stands very close to the European pylon of the Bosphorus Bridge, now officially the 15 July Martyrs Bridge.

Its architect was Nikoğos Balyan, of the Armenian Balyan family, who also designed the nearby Dolmabahçe Palace and the Dolmabahçe Mosque. Nearby, a Dolmabahçe Palace tour takes you through the last great home of the Ottoman sultans.

History of Ortaköy Mosque

An older mosque on the shore

A small masjid already stood here from 1721, and it was renewed on the shore in the 1740s. Then, more than a century later, Abdülmecid I ordered the present building.

Earthquakes and repairs

Later, the 1894 Istanbul earthquake damaged the mosque. In 1909, the Ministry of Foundations repaired it. In the 1960s, however, new cracks appeared, so the General Directorate of Foundations strengthened the ground and renewed the dome, and the mosque reopened in 1969. The General Directorate of Foundations restored it in recent years.

What to See at Ortaköy Mosque

The carved facades

Like other buildings by the Balyans, the mosque mixes Ottoman Baroque with European Neoclassical ideas. What sets it apart, however, is the richness of its carved stone. Engaged columns and reliefs cover the facades, while two rows of large windows fill the prayer hall with light reflected from the water. The minarets, too, have balconies shaped like Corinthian capitals.

The interior

Inside, the building has two parts: a two-story imperial apartment for the sultan and a square prayer hall under a single dome. The mihrab (the niche that shows the direction of prayer) and minbar are of marble, while the preacher’s chair is of marble and porphyry. Above, trompe-l’œil paintings of curtained windows and niches decorate the dome. Look also for calligraphy panels by Sultan Abdülmecid himself, who was a skilled calligrapher.

Ortaköy Around the Mosque

Ortaköy, “the middle village”, is a busy neighborhood on the Bosphorus and home to Galatasaray University and Kabataş High School. Nearby stand the Esma Sultan Mansion, a burnt-out yalı turned event venue, and the Çırağan Palace of Sultan Abdülaziz, now a luxury hotel. Finally, on the hill above, the German architect Bruno Taut once lived in a house that mixed Japanese and European styles.

In Ortaköy, three faiths share one shore road. A few steps from the mosque stand the Etz Ahayim Synagogue and the Greek Orthodox Church of Agios Fokas. Visits to both are limited, so admire them from outside unless you come for a service.

Seeing Ortaköy from the water is just as good. Our Bosphorus cruise can slow down under the bridge for the classic photograph. On land, our Bosphorus villages tour starts in Ortaköy, and our Bosphorus dinner cruise passes the mosque in the evening. Book either one, and we plan your Ortaköy stop at dusk, when the bridge lights up.

How to Visit Ortaköy Mosque

Getting to Ortaköy Mosque

• From Beşiktaş: walk or take a bus north along the Bosphorus shore road.
• By boat: the mosque is a classic view from any Bosphorus cruise.
• Combine it with Dolmabahçe Palace to the south and Rumelihisarı to the north.

Local tips for Ortaköy Mosque

• Dress modestly and avoid prayer times, especially Friday noon.
• Come at dusk to see the mosque and the lit bridge together.