Atik Valide Camii

The Atik Valide complex in the Toptaşı quarter of Üsküdar was commissioned from Mimar Sinan between 1570 and 1579 by Nurbanu Sultan, mother of Murad III. Set in terraces on a slope, it comprises a mosque, madrasa, dervish lodge, primary school, schools of hadith and Quran recitation, soup kitchen, hospital and bath. The mosque reached its present form in three stages; its dome of about 13 metres on a hexagonal plan is supported by five half domes. The courtyard, enclosed by arcades of thirty-eight domed bays, and the Iznik tiles around the mihrab are its most striking features. It is a working mosque.