The complex is the work of Mimar Sinan. It consisted of a mosque, a madrasah, a tomb, a primary school, an inn, an almshouse and a madhouse. Only a few of these have survived to the present day.
The most important structures that respond to the needs of a large society are undoubtedly social complexes, and Ottoman women have built many social complexes throughout history. One of them is Mihrimah Sultan, the daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent. She had Mimar Sinan build a social complex with a madrasah and soup kitchen across from the Üsküdar Pier when she was still young.
The social complex is the work of Mimar Sinan. The social complex consisted of a mosque, madrasah, tomb, primary school, inn, soup kitchen and hospice. Only a few of these have survived to the present day.
Mimar Sinan applied a more contemporary model of the Hagia Sophia Mosque in the mosque of this social complex. The half dome, which is usually found above the entrances of mosques, was not used; for this reason, the mosque is entered as soon as the main dome is reached. The fountain at the entrance of the mosque is strikingly beautiful. The inlaid decorations on the wood used in the windows, doors and pulpit, and the mihrab and pulpit made of marble are the products of fine workmanship.
The madrasah is located to the north of the mosque. Between the mosque and the madrasah, there are two tombs, one belonging to Mihrimah Sultan's two sons and the other to Grand Vizier İbrahim Ethem Pasha. The primary school is in the direction of the qibla of the mosque. The tabhane, soup kitchen and inn belonging to the complex have not survived to the present day. Mihrimah Sultan found the mosque inside the complex dark, and Sinan, who did not forget her dissatisfaction, built the mosque of the second complex that Mihrimah Sultan would build years later in Edirnekapı brighter than any other mosque he had ever built. Today, the madrasah is used as a dispensary and the soup kitchen as a library.
Source: İstanbul Gezi Rehberi
