Gül Mosque

The Gül Mosque or the Mother Theodosia Church is located in the Aykapı district of İstanbul. It is not exactly known when the construction began fort his valuable mosque from the Byzantine. Still, it is estimated to date back to the 10^th century. The church was converted into a mosque in 1499. Many stories are told about the period when it was a church. It is told that it was called Aya Theodosia because the holy relics of a murdered woman were placed here. This structure, designed on top of a basement with brick vaults, has a layout in the form of a Greek cross. The dome section lays on top of four solid bases. The structure has three abscissae. The one at the center is rather larger than the other ones. Both the abscissa and the niches were renovated in the 1300s.

The Gül Mosque is a rather big mosque compared to other structures and when it was a church, there was a monastery for women right next to it. According to a story, the church was adorned with roses on a special day in May in 1453. As the Turks entered the city around those dates, it is said that they called this place Gül which means rose. However, this story is disputed because the Byzantine did not have enough time to get busy with such adornments in those chaotic times. Another story tells that it is named after a person called Gülbaba who tomb was buried here. There are many similar stories about the name of the mosque.

After the city was conquered, the basement under the church started to be used as a depot for the ships at the Golden Horn. The Aya Theodosia Church was converted into a mosque with the contributions of Hasan Paşa during the rule of Sultan Selim II. Especially the outer look of the church was significantly modified.