Şeyh Murad Mosque
From Byzantine Studies by Paspates (1877)
Şeyh Murad Mosque (Turkish Şeyh Murad Mescidi) was on the north slope of the Fourth Hill between the Byzantine churches now known as Gül Mosque and Eski imaret Mosque. It was converted at an unknown time during the Ottoman era by Sheikh Murad after whom it was named. Little is known of the building except that it was originally a Byzantine church.
The church was destroyed by 1880, although earlier documentation helps to reconstruct it. It seems that it was a domed, cross-in-square church measuring around 15 x 13 meters. Its recessed-brick masonry places the building in the Middle Byzantine era, though photographic evidence suggests that parts of the church (such as its narthex with three domes) date to the Palaiologan era. While several names have been suggested for its original dedication, nothing is firmly supported. It was probably damaged by a major fire in region in 1833. In 1880, the remains of the building were demolished to build a new tekke (dervish lodge) that no longer survives.
There is a cistern a short distance south of the church’s location, though it is unclear whether it linked to the church in anyway. It has a rectangular plan, with the remaining section of the cistern measuring 19 x 8 meters. It has 14 columns (2 rows of 7 columns), crowned various capitals and imposts, including one impost with a relief of a face. It is currently not accessible to the public as it is under an apartment building.
Photo by Guillaume Berggren (1870s)
Drawing by Mary Walker
Cistern near Şeyh Murad Mosque
Plans by Forchheimer & Strzygowski
Sources
“The Şeyh Murad Mescidi at Constantinople” by E.A. Ivison
Architecture and Ritual in the Churches of Constantinople: Ninth to Fifteenth Centuries by V. Marinis
Converted Byzantine Churches in Istanbul: Their Transformation Into Mosques and Masjids by S. Kirimtayif
Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul by Wolfgang Müller-Wiener
İstanbul'da Bizans Dönemi Sarnıçlarının Mimari Özellikleri ve Kentin Tarihsel Topografyasındaki Dağılımı by Kerim Altuğ
Die Byzantinischen Wasserbehalter von Konstantinopel by Forchheimer & Strzygowski
Resources