Gülfem Hatun Mosque

The Gülfem Hatun Mosque, one of the important mosques in İstanbul, is located at the conjunction of the street with the same name and the Eski Mahkeme Street. When you take the second right, you will see this historical mosque. The constructor of the mosque was one of the maidens of the Harem-i Hümayun. There is a shrine and a historical school located at a very close spot to the mosque. The date of construction of the shrine is 1540. It was actually built when Gülfem Hatun was alive, because she died in 1561.

The Gülfem Hatun Mosque experienced a big fire in 1850. Unfortunately, the shrine section was burnt down in the fire. This information is available on the inscription. Some sources assert that the information on the inscription is partly wrong. In the reconstructed shrine section, there are three tombs in addition to the one of Gülfem Hatun. It is understood from the Manisa accounting books that Gülfem Hatun was very rich. According to these records, she built some fountains and schools in various quarters of İstanbul. She devoted about 30 shops in Manisa for this shrine built for her.

The Gülfem Hatun Mosque in the district of Üsküdar was built during the rule of Suleyman the Magnificent. There is no certain information about its architect. Other than that, Sinan the Architect is known to have built a madrasah with the same name. It strengthens the suggestion that this place was also built by him. Gülfem Hatun was a foreign Muslim. She was one of the important concubines of Suleyman. Her father was Abdurrahman Bey. The inscription on the mosque’s door was written by poet Senihi. The text on this inscription is made of six couplets. According to the information written here, the repairs in 1285 (1868) were made with the money gathered by the public among themselves.