The Mausoleum of Roxalana adjoins the aforementioned, and, like it, is faced with beautiful tiles. Admission 5 to 10 piastres per party, according to number of people in it.
Ahmedieh Mosque, in the Hippodrome admission 5 piastres each. It was built in 1614 by Sultan Ahmed I., who, to incite the workmen to complete its erection as soon as possible, came once a week and assisted with his own hands in the work of building. This is the only mosque in the world with six minarets, except the Mosque of the Prophet at Mecca, to which latter, however, Sultan Ahmed had to add a seventh minaret, in deference to the popular outcry against his ambition in erecting a mosque with the same number of minarets as the one at Mecca. This mosque is especially noted for its vastness, the brightness of its interior, its enormous columns (about 70 feet in circumference), and for the
beautiful tiles and painting ornamenting its walls and dome. Its Mihrab is inlaid with several small coloured stones, the central one being a piece of the sacred Black Stone at Mecca. The square yellow stone to the left of the Mihrab is credited by Moslems with miraculous power to cure all the ills that flesh is heir to. The pulpit is a masterpiece of marble carving, and is a copy of that in the mosque at Mecca. The canopy under the Sultan’s box, supported on slender columns of various colours, is of rosewood, and is well worthy of notice. The ivory model of the mosque suspended in a glass case in front of the Mihrab was made by the founder, Sultan Ahmed I. himself, when a boy.
This mosque was formerly used on state occasions, and here Sultan Mahmud II. unfurled the Sacred Standard and read the decree which put an end to the tyranny of the Janissaries guided tours istanbul.
Reformer in Divan Yolu Street
The Tomb of Sultan Mahmud II., ‘the Reformer in Divan Yolu Street, near the Burnt Column. Admission 5 piastres each; no reduction for any number of visitors. This modern building contains, besides the tomb of Mahmud II., those of his wife and of five of his daughters, and that of his son, Abd-ul-Aziz, all covered with costly shawls. Sultan Mahmud’s grave is enclosed by a silver railing, and most of the candelabra round it are of the same metal; at the head is an aigretted fez, this Sultan having been the first to discard the turban in favour of the red cap now worn by all Muhammadans, and said to be a modification of the Greek national head-dress. Sultan Aziz’s grave is on the left when entering the mausoleum, and is easily recognised from the more conical shape of the fez at its head, which this Sultan affected and made fashionable during his reign.
The large chandelier hanging from the dome was a present to Sultan Aziz from the British Government; the two clocks on either side of the door were presents to the same Sultan from Napoleon III. One of the several transcriptions of the Koran that are shown to travellers is about 1100 years old, and is a masterpiece of Arabic ornamental penmanship. The inlaid silver boxes contain Korans belonging to the mausoleum. On the wall near Sultan Aziz’s tomb is a linen border with a quotation from the Koran written on it. The adjoining cemetery is reserved for the burial of high State dignitaries.
Private Balkan Tours 