The Lala Mustafa Paşa mosque was built in 1562. It was the first Ottoman mosque of the town; its architect was Mimar Sinan.
The mosque was commissioned by Lala Kara Mustafa Paşa (1500-1580), who had been a tutor (‘Lala’) to the future Selim II. He made a long political and military career, first as Ottoman governor of Egypte, of Erzurum and of Damascus; he led the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus (1570) and the campaign against Georgia and Persia (1578). He rose to Fifth Vizier, and became Grand Vizier at the very end of his life.