Ortakoy Mosque

The mosque is located on the shores of the Bosphorus in Ortaköy district. It was built in 1853 by the royal architect Nikogos Balyan, during the reign of Sultan Abdulmecid. The mosque is designed in Baroque style and has a fine location. It is composed of intimate rooms and a private area for the sultans. The wide and tall windows were designed to let in light from all around the Bosphorus. It has two minarets each with a single gallery that are be reached by a flight of stairs. The walls are made of white stone. The walls of the mosque's only dome were decorated with pink mosaics. Its recess in the wall of the kiblah was made of marble and decorated with mosaic, and the mihrab (pulpit) where the preacher stands was made with porphyry covered marble.