Çimenlik Kalesi Fatih Mosque

The Fatih Mosque stands within the grounds of Çimenlik Castle, also called Kale-i Sultaniye, on the Dardanelles shore in Çanakkale. The castle was built on the order of Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror, with most historians dating its construction to the early 1460s, as part of a pair of fortresses facing Kilitbahir Castle across the narrowest point of the strait, meant to block enemy warships from reaching Istanbul. A mosque was raised inside the castle walls around the time of its construction, and a second mosque was later added at the fortress's southwest tower during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz, between 1861 and 1876. Historians still debate whether the castle predates or postdates the 1453 conquest of Constantinople, though most now favor the early 1460s. Today the castle complex, including its mosque, forms part of the Çanakkale Naval Museum grounds and is one of the city's most visited historic sites tied to the defense of the Dardanelles.