Isom-Verhaaren|159The mosque was built to have great visibility, being situated below Süleyman’s
mosque complex on the top of the hill.
The mosque was built in a commercial district near Tahtakale where land was
limited, so it lacked a garden enclosure separating sacred space from the bustle of
commerce. Inside the mosque, tiles compensate for this lack through their floral
designs that reinforce the idea of paradise. The exquisite tiles produced at Iznik
covering the walls inside the mosque ensure that it remains a tourist attraction
in Istanbul. See figures 11.1 and 11.2 for examples of the tilework in the mosque.
Sixteenth-century descriptions of the mosque emphasize Mihrimah’s responsi-
bility for the construction of the mosque and its resemblance to paradise:
In Istanbul, near Tahtakale, Her Highness the afore-mentioned Sultana built
a Friday mosque and noble sanctuary resembling paradise. Ever since[,] the
azure dome of the sky has been sparkling with the rays of the moon and the
sun [an allusion to Mihrimah’s name], no such ornamented and pleasant-
looking building has ever been erected, designed, or founded on the surface of
the earth and under the heavens.Finally, Mihrimah commissioned a mosque at Edirnekapı. While later prin-
cess and grand vizier couples commissioned mosque complexes as a pair, Mih-
rimah kept her identity as a patron separate from that of Rüstem’s. Her status
when the mosque at Edirnekapı was built was that of a widow, the confidant
of her father, whose influence survived the deaths of her mother and husband.
While she planned its construction at the same time as the mosque she built for
Rüstem, it was finished somewhat later because of difficulties concerning the site.
She chose the highest hill in Istanbul for it. Süleyman gave his approval for this
mosque probably in 1562; however, a new permit was issued in 1563 because the
endowment administrator of the late grand vizier Kara Ahmed Pasha challenged
her right to the site. This pasha became grand vizier when Süleyman deposed
Rüstem in 1553 after the execution of Prince Mustafa. Kara Ahmed Pasha had
been married to Süleyman’s sister, Fatma. He was executed in 1555 either as a
result of the efforts of Mihrimah and Hurrem to persuade Süleyman to reinstate
Rüstem as grand vizier or because Kara Ahmed had conspired with the new gov-
ernor of Cairo to discredit its former governor, Semiz Ali Pasha. Either way, fac-
tions of favorites caused Kara Ahmed’s fall from favor. When it came to a contest
over a building site between his beloved daughter and a disgraced grand vizier,
Süleyman ruled in favor of his daughter, Mihrimah. However, the controversy
dragged on. The mosque was not completed until about 1569, during Selim II’s
reign. The site was desirable partly because of the high hill, which increased the
mosque’s visibility, and also its location at a busy city gate where a major road led
from Istanbul to Edirne.