Yeni (Valide Sultan) Mosque

The New mosque, also known as valide sultan mosque

Like many other ottoman mosques, New Mosque was also designed as an imperial mosque complex which included the mosque itself, fountains, mausoleum, market (today's Spice Bazaar, or Egyptian Bazaar), Turkish bath, a hospital and a primary school. A library was also added to the complex during the sultanate of sultan Ahmed III. It has 2 minarets, 66 domes and semi domes, which were arranged pyramidal in shape. This dome plan of the New Mosque was inspired from Sinan the Architect's Şehzade Mosque and Sedefkar Mehmet Agha's Sultan Ahmed Mosque (blue Mosque). The minaret is 52m high, while the outer dome's height is 36m, and the inner dome's is 17.5m. The courtyard of the mosque is 39m on each side, and a fountain stands in the centre. The interior of the mosque is square shaped and measures 41 meters on each side. It is decorated with blue, green and white İznik tiles. Calligraphic plates line the four corners where the dome meets with the ascending pillars. Like many other ottoman mosques, the names of the first four khalifahs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and ali) are written on these plates.