Ortakoy Mosque

The Ortakoy Mosque is one of Istanbul’s most beautiful mosques and one of the most popular ones in the Bosphorus. Built sometime in the mid-19th-century, it is situated in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul and is officially called the Büyük Mecidiye Camii. The mosque is best seen from the Bosphorus Cruise which takes tourists from the Asian to the European side of Istanbul on a ferry boat.

Erected on the ruins of the Cantemir Palace, the Ortakoy Mosque is built in the neo-Baroque style of architecture and features two minarets and a dome. It is linked to a two-storey sultan’s summer palace and has two rows of high bay windows that illuminate its interior. The mosque is also known for its sliced facades which have mounting columns with engravings and relief. The inside of the dome has beautiful floral patterned frescoes along with niche-like windows bordered by imitation curtains. The mosque’s mihrab (decorated with pink mosaics) and minbar are made of marble.