A mosque before a bridge
The nineteenth century in front of the twentieth — modern Istanbul's image.
Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0
A mid-nineteenth-century mosque standing on a stone quay at the very edge of the Bosphorus in the Ortaköy district, formally named the Büyük Mecidiye Mosque. Its position is what makes it among the most photographed mosques in Istanbul: it stands directly on the water, with the Bosphorus suspension bridge immediately behind it. That juxtaposition — a nineteenth-century Ottoman mosque in front of a twentieth-century bridge joining two continents — has become the shorthand image of modern Istanbul. The style is Ottoman baroque: large windows, European-flavoured ornament and two slender minarets, closer in appearance to the palaces of the period than to the classical mosques. The interior is relatively small and brighter than you expect, thanks to the large windows facing the water. Entry is free and the mosque is working, so prayer times and the usual dress rules apply. The district around it is among Istanbul's liveliest at weekends: a market, food stalls and cafés on the water, and it is very crowded then.
The nineteenth century in front of the twentieth — modern Istanbul's image.
A stone quay at the Bosphorus edge, with the windows looking onto it.
European-flavoured ornament, nearer the period's palaces than the classical mosques.
Ortaköy, Beşiktaş, on the Bosphorus shore
Near sunset for the best photograph, when the bridge lights and the sky colours. But avoid weekends if you want quiet: the district fills completely with locals and visitors on Saturday and Sunday. A weekday morning is far calmer.
Walk the waterfront, browse the craft market in the lanes behind the mosque, and try the kumpir stalls — stuffed baked potatoes — the district is known for. Bosphorus boats also leave from here, so the visit folds into a trip along the strait.
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