Piyale Paşa Mosque

Piyale Pasha Mosque and Social Complex is a group of buildings built in 1573 by Mimar Sinan for Captain-General Piyale Pasha. It was built as a complex consisting of a mosque, madrasa, dervish lodge, shrine, burial area, primary school, fountain, bazaar, and bathhouse, but only the mosque and shrine have survived to our day.

The 30.5×19.5 meter rectangular mosque is covered with six domes, each nine meters in diameter, on two large granite columns and arches. Despite the fact that it belongs to the pre-Ottoman Ulucami category in Anatolia with its six domes, the Piyale Pasha Mosque is thought to be a highly developed and refined example with Sinan's new technique. The mosque has a marble pulpit and one of the rare tile mihraps of the classical period. The single minaret of the mosque, which does not conform to the architectural traditions of the period with its domes, arches and entrance portico, is located directly above the entrance and has a single balcony.

Over time, the mosque has been worn out as a result of dense construction around it, negligence, and natural disasters such as fire and earthquake. Within the scope of the Restoration works, all cemented joints and plasters were scraped and the original hand drawings were reached and preserved. The original dome moldings were revealed by removing the screed layers on the upper cover. At the end of the application, while the work regained its original identity, the illegal constructions on the plot were demolished and landscaping was done.