YILDIZ MOSQUE

YILDIZ MOSQUE

As many royal mosques, this mosque is also named after its founder, Abdulhamid II as ‘Hamidiye Mosque’ however in time, that name was overthrown by the name ‘Yıldız’ that means ‘star’. Mosque owes this second name to Yıldız Palace it is a part of and to the interior’s starry theme displayed beautifully.

Construction of this mosque was ordered by Sultan Abdulhamid II as an urgent errand due to his desire that was coming from his concerns for his own security, to perform his prayers in a closer mosque. The construction that started being carried on in 1881 was completed in 1885 by an architect of Greek origin, Nikolaidis Jelpuylo. It is a well-known feature of his characteristics that Abdulhamid II was highly keen on woodworking and worked on this hoby of him in his workshop in Yıldız Palace. He exposed his skills also in Yıldız Mosque by crafting the cages made of cedar wood for the royal lodge.

Although royal mosques were often built with more than only one minaret, Yıldız Mosque discerns itself with its singular minaret. In the general characteristics of the Mosque’s structure, there is a fusion of orientalist and gothic revival elements. In the interior the starry theme steps forward with the gilded starry design on the ceiling and the dome, the star shaped pieces on the chandeliers and first three verses of the chapter An-Najm (which means star) of The Qur’ân written at the center of the dome.

With other details of the mosque, another spot of significance is the clocktower of the mosque. The tower is erected as a trilevel structure with a dome. The symetry it exhibits in a square plan and the aesthetics revealed by the transitions provided by muqarnas cornices between the levels complete Mosque’s grace on the outside.

Yıldız is a relatively distant mosque to the popular tourist attractions but is more than worth sparing your time to visit.