Fatih Camiisi (Fatih Mosque)
The Fatih Mosque was built by Mehmed the Conqueror on the hill that had been occupied by the Havariyun Church during the Byzantine period. Its construction began in 1462 and finished in 1470.
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Address
Fevzi Paşa Cad., Fatih
Visiting Hours
Daily, except prayer times.
Muslims pray five times each day. The precise timing of prayers often vary by a few minutes each day, therefore throughout a year there is a wide range of prayer times. The reason is that Islamic prayer times were traditionally set according to the movement of the sun.
Actually Islamic prayers are fixed at the same "time" period each day -- before dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening. Because of the rotation of the earth, the latitudes of the earth’s locations, daylight savings time, etc. -- the "times" (according to the clock) for these prayers change depending on time of day and location.
The Fatih Mosque was built by Mehmed the Conqueror on the hill once the site of the Byzantine era Havariyun Church. Its construction began in 1462 and was completed in 1470. Seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1766, it was repaired and restored to its original appearance in 1771.
The graves of many important names from the Ottoman period- including that of Mehmed the Conqueror himself – are found inside. Granite and marble were used in the construction of the mosque, which widely appreciated for its splendid architecture.
In 1932 it was the first mosque to have the ezan recited from its minarets in Turkish. It recently underwent restoration in 2008 and reopened to worshipers in 2012.
Mosque is a place of worship for Muslims. It comes from the Arabic word 'masjid' which literally means "a place for prostration". Mosques are also places where Muslims come together for different purposes such as education, social gatherings, public meetings, exhibitions, lectures etc. Although there is no specific requirement for mosques in terms of their architecture, one can see some common features inside and outside of many mosques such as minarets, domes, ablution areas, prayer niche (mihrab), pulpit (minbar) and so on.
Muslims are obliged to perform the ritual worship 5 times a day. They are not required to attend a mosque for each of these prayers however in order to interact with the community they are encouraged to pray in congregation. Friday noon is the only time in a week when Muslims must definitely join the congregational prayer in a mosque after which they can continue their work, education or other commitments.
Azan or the call for prayer is a vocal announcement that one can hear from minarets 5 times a day. The call to prayer is made live -even early in the morning- by a person called 'muazzin'. The muazzins are usually chosen from people with loud and beautiful voices and trained over years to make this announcement beautifully and invite people to worship.
Taksim: Take the 87 Edirnekapı – Taksim bus in Taksim and get off at the Fatih stop.
Atatürk Airport: Take the Aksaray – Havaalanı tramline and get off at the Emniyet-Fatih or Aksaray stop. It is within walking distance.
Blue Mosque Area: Go to Eminönü via T1 Zeytinburnu – Kabataş tramline. From Eminönü, take the bus 37E, 36KE or 32 and get off at the Fatih stop.
