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Mehmed IV was depicted as relishing being among his subjects. Like his con-
temporary Charles II of England, who despite a trend of decreasing access to
monarchs throughout western Europe, such as at the court of Louis XIV of
France, was more approachable than his predecessors, Mehmed IV was also
more open and accessible than previous seventeenth-century sultans.^60
The Valide Sultan Mosque was built in a highly visible place on the sea-front in the main harbor of Istanbul, viewable by a maximum number of pas-
sersby, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim. As the French commentator de Tournefort
noted, “The site of the mosque, which is entirely within the gaze of the palace
and in the most visited and crowded spot in the city, makes it the preferred spot
during public festivities.”^61 Evliya Çelebi also noted its unique situation, for the
mosque was literally elevated, requiring marble steps leading to the gates on
its four sides.^62 Although it was among the people, it still rose above them. Be-
cause of its hilltop location, the Mosque of Suleiman I towered over the city, yet
the Mosque of the Valide Sultan held an even more commanding position, for
it served as the fi rst imperial edifi ce that greeted a person arriving at the main
port. The valide sultan ordered a royal pavilion to be built adjoining the mosque
to serve as an occasional residence for her and other members of the dynasty.^63
The sultan also had an elevated pavilion built on a tower outside the garden
in front of the prayer niche.^64 Thus the mosque complex was both among and
above the commoners who milled about it, offering the royal household an op-
portunity to be connected with its subjects. Located beside the city’s teeming
harbor, this abode placed the royal family downhill from Topkapı Palace and in
a more intimate setting near commoners in the most active and lively part of
the city.
Conversion as Conquest
The narrative of the Islamization of Eminönü sought to explain the unprec-
edented policies toward Jews by linking them to fi re and utilizing current no-
tions of the conquest of infi del space. It is striking that the leading men and
women of the empire viewed the banishment of the Jews and construction of
the mosque as a conquest of formerly infi del-occupied land, stages in the con-
struction of an Islamic cityscape.
Those who constructed the mosque displayed considerable historical con-sciousness. They compared the banishment of Jews from Eminönü to Hasköy
with Muhammad’s banishment of the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir from Medina
since they chose the Qur’anic chapter “Exile” (or “Banishment,” al-Hashr, 59)
to adorn the gallery level near the royal lodge.^65 “Exile” narrates how God cast