Şehzade Mosque: Sinan's first imperial masterpiece

Updated on October 4, 2026

On the Third Hill of the old city, a short walk from the Aqueduct of Valens, the Şehzade Mosque (Şehzade Camii, the "Prince's Mosque") is Mimar Sinan's first great imperial mosque. Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned it in 1543 in memory of his favourite son, Prince Mehmed, who died aged 21; it was completed in 1548. Sinan himself called it his apprentice work, ahead of the Süleymaniye Mosque and the Selimiye in Edirne, but its perfectly symmetrical plan, a dome ringed by four half-domes, makes it a milestone of Ottoman architecture. Seldom crowded with visitors, it can be visited free of charge outside prayer times. Allow 30 to 45 minutes including the garden of tombs.

Highlights

The facade and the twin minarets

From Şehzadebaşı boulevard you can see the central dome rising in tiers above the half-domes and the small corner turrets. The two minarets, about 55 m tall, each have two balconies and are carved with geometric relief patterns, a decoration Sinan almost never used again.

The prayer hall

The dome, 19 m across and 37 m high, rests on four massive piers and four half-domes that open up an unobstructed square space. Arches with alternating red and white voussoirs, calligraphic roundels and stained-glass windows make the hall very bright.

The half-domes

Look up at the four half-domes arranged in a cross around the central dome: this was the first plan of its kind on this scale in Istanbul. Sinan tucked the buttresses into arcaded outer galleries, which lightens the building's outline.

The courtyard and the garden of tombs

The marble-paved, colonnaded courtyard is as large as the prayer hall; its ablution fountain was a later gift from Sultan Murad IV. Behind the mosque, the cemetery holds the octagonal tomb of Şehzade Mehmed, lined inside with polychrome ceramics, and those of the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha, decorated with Iznik tiles, and of Ibrahim Pasha.

Infos pratiques

Tips

Entry is free and needs no booking. The prayer hall closes to visitors during the five daily prayers, whose times change with the seasons, and on Fridays until the end of the midday prayer. Dress code: shoulders and knees covered for everyone, hair covered for women, shoes off at the entrance. The garden tombs do not always keep the same hours as the mosque: if their doors are shut, ask the caretaker. For the other visiting rules, see our guide to visiting a mosque in Istanbul. Information checked in October 2026.

How to get there

Kalenderhane Mahallesi, Şehzadebaşı Caddesi, Fatih, Istanbul. Metro M2, Vezneciler-İstanbul Ü. station, about 5 minutes on foot; tram T1, Laleli-Üniversite stop, about ten minutes away. From the Grand Bazaar, allow 15 minutes on foot via Beyazıt Square and Istanbul University.