Ahmediye Mosque, Fatih

Ahmediye (Orta) Mosque is located in the İskenderpaşa neighborhood of Fatih district in Istanbul. Another Istanbul Ahmediye Mosque is located in Üsküdar. The octagonal Ahmediye (Orta) Mosque attached to the İskenderpaşa muhtar’s office, built for the Janissary Ortas by Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, has its first construction date in 1527. After the destruction during the 1826 disbanding of the Janissary barracks, its reconstruction, according to the inscription on it, is dated to 1913. It is at the crossroads of Öksüzler Street and Karakadı Street on Aile Street, which rises from Vatan Avenue toward Fatih.

The mosque was first built by the late Ibrahim Pasha. Because it was built in the middle of the Janissary rooms at that time, it is also called the Central Mosque. The area is called Etmeydanı.

Structure

The mosque has an octagonal plan and is domed. The roof and windows are wooden. Each wall has four windows arranged in pairs of six and two. The mosque stands in the middle of a large garden within an outer wall surrounded by low walls with high railings. It is 3 meters above the street, has a basement and is used as a toilet. The outer door entered from the muhtar’s office leads to the qibla inner door via a staircase of four steps. Pine trees reach the height of the 15‑meter minaret. The roof and ceiling are dark green, the exterior of the mosque is light green. When entering through the qibla door, which bears a verse in talik script on the upper lintel, there is a shoe rack in an entrance area attached to the mosque; from there a staircase on the right side of the main door leads to the upper floor as one enters the prayer hall.

Opposite Ahmediye (Orta) Mosque, a derelict section covered with inscriptions is located at the very corner. The marble inscriptions on this abandoned place are gradually disappearing.