https://onthearts.com/p/istanbuls-blue-tile-paradise [https] On the Arts SubscribeSign in Share this post [https] Istanbul's Blue Tile Paradise onthearts.com Copy link Facebook Email Notes Other Istanbul's Blue Tile Paradise The Hidden Mosque of Rustem Pasha Jul 12, 2023 2 Share this post [https] Istanbul's Blue Tile Paradise onthearts.com Copy link Facebook Email Notes Other Share [https] Istanbul has a lot of mosques. At last count, nearly 3,000. When tourists visit the city, they tend to focus on the famous names: the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Suleymaniye Mosque, or the impressively modern Camlica Mosque. During a recent trip to Istanbul, however, a lesser-known mosque turned out to be my favorite. Thanks for reading On the Arts! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. [ ]Subscribe Crouching in the shadows of the much larger Suleymaniye Mosque, the Rustem Pasha Mosque is like a cave filled with hidden treasure. Built by the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan for the extremely influential - and somewhat controversial - Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha, the mosque is unique in a number of ways. Unlike the better-known mosques in Istanbul, it isn't flanked by acres of fountains, flowers, and gardens. Nor does it have grand views of the Bosphorus or of the city itself. Instead, it's built on top of a shopping arcade at the edge of a street market. The entrance, a pair of small doorways nestled between a kebab stand and a public restroom, is easy to miss. If you didn't know it was there, you'd probably never find it. LEFT TO RIGHT: The Rustem Pasha Mosque (foreground) is dwarfed by the much larger Suleymaniye Mosque; The two small entry doors behind a kebab stand; Shops beneath the mosque.LEFT TO RIGHT: The Rustem Pasha Mosque (foreground) is dwarfed by the much larger Suleymaniye Mosque; The two small entry doors behind a kebab stand; Shops beneath the mosque.LEFT TO RIGHT: The Rustem Pasha Mosque (foreground) is dwarfed by the much larger Suleymaniye Mosque; The two small entry doors behind a kebab stand; Shops beneath the mosque. LEFT TO RIGHT: The Rustem Pasha Mosque (foreground) is dwarfed by the much larger Suleymaniye Mosque; The two small entry doors behind a kebab stand; Shops beneath the mosque. Through the doorways and up the narrow staircase, you arrive in the mosque's courtyard. The sensation is that you've been transported to an urban oasis. Istanbul's car traffic, notoriously busy and loud, is only about 100 feet away. The shoulder-to-shoulder crowds of the bazaar are even closer. And yet the sahn, or entrance courtyard, is quiet and mostly empty. The entry courtyard, or "sahn."The entry courtyard, or "sahn."The entry courtyard, or "sahn." The entry courtyard, or "sahn." What makes the mosque truly special, however, isn't simply that it's hidden. It is the balance between its understated view from the street and an extravagant, richly adorned interior, which is covered in thousands of colorful Iznik tiles. Iznik tiles, as the name suggests, come from a town called Iznik in western Turkey. Predominately white and blue, the tiles have images of flowers and Arabic sentences from the Qur'an and from hadith, which are records of Muhammad's life. Iznik pottery and tiles were used extensively by the Ottomans, especially in religious and political architecture like the Topkapi Palace, the center of government from the 1460s to 1856. The Rustem Pasha Mosque is a prime example, with over 2,300 tiles containing 80 different patterns, each with its own specific purpose. To learn more about them, I bought a small book from the mosque's caretaker, which exhaustively details the variety of motifs used and their symbolic meaning: Detailed views of the tiles + a guidebook.Detailed views of the tiles + a guidebook.Detailed views of the tiles + a guidebook. Detailed views of the tiles + a guidebook.Detailed views of the tiles + a guidebook.Detailed views of the tiles + a guidebook. Detailed views of the tiles + a guidebook. While the Rustem Pasha Mosque lacks the gravitas and sheer scale of the Hagia Sofia or the Suleymaniye Mosque, its human scale and hidden nature lends it a certain magic that is missing in the more monumental structures. Thanks for reading On the Arts! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. [ ]Subscribe 2 Share this post [https] Istanbul's Blue Tile Paradise onthearts.com Copy link Facebook Email Notes Other Share Comments [https] [ ] Top New Community No posts Ready for more? [ ]Subscribe (c) 2023 On the Arts Privacy [?] Terms [?] Collection notice Start WritingGet the app Substack is the home for great writing This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts