Ahi Çelebi Mosque

Ahi Çelebi Mosque is a mosque located in the Eminönü quarter of the Fatih district of Istanbul. It is also known as "Kanlıfırın Mescidi" and "Yemişçiler Mosque". It is behind Istanbul Business University, near Zindan Han, and on Yoğurtçular Street. It was commissioned by Ahi Mehmet Çelebi. The name also appears in sources as Ahmed and Mahmud. It became famous mainly under the name Ahî Çelebi. Ahi Çelebi was a Turkish physician who lived during the reigns of Bayezid II and Selim I and served twice as chief physician. His father was the renowned physician of the reigns of Mehmed the Conqueror and Bayezid II, the Mevlana Kemal of Tabriz or Shirvan origin. Ahmet Çelebi learned medicine mainly from his father. According to sources, although he was over ninety years old, he died in Cairo while returning from pilgrimage and was buried near the tomb of Imam Shafi'i. The mosque burned twice, in 1539 and 1653, and suffered major damage in the 1892 earthquake. Described among the works of Mimar Sinan in the Tezkiretü'l-Ebniye and Tezkiretü'l-Bünyan, the building remained in a ruined state for many years. It was restored in the 1990s and put back into service.

This mosque is the one where Evliya Çelei saw the dream of “travel of the Prophet” instead of “intercession of the Prophet”. In this respect it holds a special place in Istanbul folklore. It has a rectangular plan, a single dome supported by pairs of arches, built of stone and brick, and the dome drum is surrounded by a metal ring. The entrance is reached by stairs. During the restoration process the mosque’s minaret was also renewed.