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The Şehzade Mosque was built between 1544 an 1548 by the great architect Sinan, after the mourning Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent ordered him to design a mosque in memory to his beloved son, prince Mehmet, who he had intended to take over his throne, but who died at the age of 1543. Sinan was the court architect since 1539 and the Şehzade is the first major work in Istanbul.

It is a bit off the beaten track and as a result you will see almost no tourists here (it is not too far from the Valens Aqueduct, or the Municipal building). The gardens are big and full of cats, to me always a pleasure. I took a few pictures from an area in the back of the gardens, where some poor dwellings house happy people. If you go into that direction you’ll get to the oldest Lycee in the country, of which I will show some pictures elsewhere.

Unfortunately the grave monuments or türbeler were out of bounds, due to be restored I was told. In it the prince and his brother Cihangir and daughter Humaşah are interred. The mosque has been under restoration for a number of years, but in 2008 was finally opened and a joy it is.