Fodor's Expert Review Yeni Cami

A dominant feature of the Istanbul skyline, thanks to its prime spot on the Eminönü waterfront, the "new mosque" is known as much for its history as its architecture. Its location, rising out of the Golden Horn, presented formidable engineering challenges to the former apprentice to Sinan, who laid the waterlogged foundations in 1597. Due to sultans' deaths and complicated harem politics, the project wasn’t completed until 1663 by the queen mother at the time, Turhan Hatice. The entrance to the courtyard from the main square offers a marvelous view of the small domes and semidomes that appear to cascade down around the main dome, flanked by two minarets. Inside, almost every square inch of the interior is decorated—from the elaborate, multicolored İznik tiles to the intricately painted domes and gilded minbar—while numerous windows, including in the wall of the mihrab, fill the mosque with light. Note that during the restoration work that was underway at this writing, the mosque wasn't open to the public.