| Ortaköy Mosque | |
|---|---|
 Ortaköy Mosque inIstanbul, on the European shoreline of theBosphorusstrait, with theBosphorus Bridge in the background | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Location | |
| Location | Istanbul,Turkey |
 Interactive map of Ortaköy Mosque | |
| Coordinates | 41°2′49″N29°1′37″E / 41.04694°N 29.02694°E /41.04694; 29.02694 |
| Architecture | |
| Architects | Garabet Balyan,Nigoğayos Balyan |
| Type | Mosque |
| Style | Ottoman (19th-century eclectic) |
| Completed | 1854 or 1856 |
| Minaret | 2 |
Ortaköy Mosque (Turkish:Ortaköy Camii), formally theBüyük Mecidiye Camii[1] (Turkish:Büyük Mecidiye Camii,lit. 'Great Mosque of Sultan Abdulmejid') inBeşiktaş,Istanbul,Turkey, is a mosque situated at the waterside of theOrtaköy pier square, one of the most popular locations on theBosphorus. It was commissioned by theOttoman sultanAbdülmecid I, and its construction was completed around 1854 or 1856.
This structure is symbolic of the district ofOrtaköy and is often photographed, as it offers a distinctive view of theBosphorus Strait of Istanbul and theBosphorus Bridge.
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On the site of the present-day Ortaköy Mosque there was previously a small mosque built in 1720 and ruined during thePatrona Halil Uprising in 1731.[2] The current mosque was commissioned by the Ottoman sultan Abdülmecid I and built or completed around 1854 or 1856 (the exact dates of construction vary between scholarly sources).[a] Its architects wereArmenian father and sonGarabet Balyan andNikoğos Balyan, who worked as a team and who also designed the nearbyDolmabahçe Palace and theDolmabahçe Mosque in 1853–1855.[8][9][1]
The mosque was damaged in the1894 Istanbul earthquake, and it also suffered a minor fire in 1984. Thus, the structure has undergone a number of repair and restoration work in its time. After the 1894 quake, the mosque was repaired by the Ministry of Foundations in 1909, and the originalfluted minarets were replaced with more austere masonry work.[10] The single dome of the mosque was originally built using bricks and it developed cracks over time. By the 1960s, the building was also starting to lean and the dome was ready to collapse, so its foundations were reinforced and a new dome was reconstructed using concrete. The mosque reopened in 1969.[10][11]
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A three-year restoration project by the General Directorate of Foundations was completed in 2014, at a cost of almost 7 millionliras. The mosque was officially reopened on 6 June 2014 with a ceremony attended byRecep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Prime Minister at the time, and other government officials.[12][13][14]
As with their other projects in Istanbul, the Balyans designed the mosque in a mixed oreclectic style incorporating contemporary EuropeanRevivalist trends such asNeoclassical, along with some details and overall design elements drawn from the earlierOttoman Baroque style. However, it is distinguished from other mosques of the period by its particularly ornate stone-carved decoration.[8][4][7][15]
The building consists of a two-story imperial apartment for the sultan, which has a U-shaped plan, and a main prayer hall for the mosque, which has a square plan covered with one dome. The facades withengaged columns are decorated by carved stone reliefs, giving the mosque a "dynamic appearance". There are two rows of windows providing the mosque with illumination.[16] The reconstructed dome was built from concrete, while stone was used to build the two, slim minarets.[17] The minarets have balconies resemblingCorinthian capitals.[18]
The mosque is small in comparison to other mosques on the other side of theGolden Horn. In terms of the interior space, it is modest in scale but the inside is spacious and has wide, tall windows which refract its reflection in water as well as allowing in daylight. Materials like marble andporphyry were used to build themihrab andminbar.[17][19] The inside of the dome is adorned withTrompe-l'œil frescoes, which were a feature first introduced toOttoman architecture during the reign of Abdülmecid I.[20] Thetrompe-l'œil paintings here include depictions of niche-like windows with curtains as well as rows of mihrabs, executed in aNeo-Renaissance style while also incorporating elements of traditionalIslamic architecture anddecoration within that style.[21][17] The mosque's interior also features several panels ofcalligraphy executed by Abdülmecid I himself, as he was a calligrapher along with being a sultan.[22]
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