Yeni Camii (New Mosque)
The Yeni Camii, or “New Mosque”, is located across from the Spice Bazaar and carries the distinction of being the Ottoman mosque whose construction took the longest to complete.
Loading ...
Address
Yeni Camii Meydanı, Eminönü
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 Yeni Camii, or “New Mosque”, is located across from the Spice Bazaar and bears the distinction of being the Ottoman mosque whose construction took the longest to complete. Work on the mosque began in 1589 on the orders of Safiye Sultan, the wife of Murat II, and after a period of inactivity was continued by Valide Turhan Sultan, the mother of Mehmet IV, in 1661.
The styles the of different architects who worked on the complex add interest while the interior details and craftsmanship dazzle the eyes. Completed the 1663, the New Mosque complex also included the famous Spice Bazaar, the Hatice Turhan Sultan Tomb and the Hünkar Kasrı.
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 funicular railway inside Metro station for Kabataş. From there catch the tramline T1 Zeytinburnu – Kabataş and get off at the Eminönü stop.
Another way to get to the Spice Bazaar: Take the Nostalgic Tram Line for Tünel. Through the historic tunnel get down to Karaköy and walk across the Galata Bridge to reach the Spice Bazaar.
Atatürk Airport: Take the metro line M1 Aksaray – Havaalanı to reach the Spice Bazaar. Then get on the T1 Zeytinburnu – Kabataş tramline for Eminönü.
Blue Mosque Area: Take the T1 Zeytinburnu – Kabataş tramline and get off at the Eminönü stop.
The mosque, Yeni Camii, is located right near the Spice Bazaar.
