The Second Mosque: Enduring Earthquakes

The mosque in 1559 prior to its reconstruction, with a single large dome, one semi-dome, and two minarets.

Although the Fatih Camii is both physically and symbolically founded upon the imprint of the Church of the Holy Apostles, it has also emerged as a lieu de memoire in its own right over its 500-year lifespan. The current mosque was built in 1771, the latest of several successor structures necessitated by Istanbul’s frequent earthquakes. It is physically distinct from, and more elaborate than, the original, which only had two minarets and one semi-dome [1]. However, the basic idea of the Fatih Camii as Mehmet’s “conqueror’s mosque” has endured, as the mosque has been reconstructed through several regimes, preserving its historical symbolism as a marker of Ottoman victory in 1453 and a beacon for Islamic faith.

The most recent layout of the Fatih Camii, of greater complexity than its 1470 counterpart.

The Fatih Camii also qualifies as a lieu de memoire in Istanbul’s Ottoman and modern landscape due to its status as a kulliye, or multipurpose complex. Its grounds include several medrese (educational institutions), a library, a hospital, a public kitchen, and mausoleums for several sultans. These various functions meant that the mosque was used as much for public and secular purposes as for state and religious ones, making it an integrated and vital nexus within the city. This would have increased the public’s contact with the structure, helping it emerge as a historicized site that represented Istanbul’s municipal identity.