Üsküdar and the Princes’ Islands - Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City - page 387

this avenue for about 600 metres as it winds its way uphill. Then,
towards the top of the hill and somewhat to the left we see the great
mosque which dominates the skyline of Üsküdar, Atik Valide Camii.
ATİK VALİDE COMPLEX
The great külliye of Atik Valide Camii was built by Sinan in 1583 for
Nurbanu Sultan, wife of Selim II and mother of Murat III. This is the
most splendid and extensive of all Sinan's constructions in Istanbul
with the sole exception of the Süleymaniye. In addition to the
mosque itself, the külliye consists of a medrese, a hospital, an imaret,
a tabhane a dar-ül hadis, a dar-ül kura, a mektep, a kervansaray, a
hamam and a hânkah, or dervish hospice; all these buildings are still
in existence, though some have not been restored and are not open
to the public.
We enter the precinct by an alley beside the graveyard behind
the mosque and find ourselves in one of the most beautiful of all
the mosque courtyards, a grandly proportioned cloister with domed
porticoes supported on marble columns; in the centre are the şadırvan
and many ancient plane trees and cypresses. The mosque is entered
through an elaborate double porch, the outer one with a penthouse
roof, the inner domed and with handsome tiled inscriptions over the
windows. Inside one finds a wide rectangular room with a central
dome supported by a hexagonal arrangement of pillars and columns;
to north and south are side aisles each with two domed bays; the
aisles were added at a later date and although on a close examination
the arrangement leads to certain anomalies, the general impression is
very attractive. There are galleries round three sides of the room and
the wooden ceilings under some of them preserve that rich painting
typical of the period: floral and arabesque designs in black, red and
gold. The mihrab is in a square projecting apse entirely revetted in
magnificent tiles of the best Iznik period; note also the window-
frames of deep red conglomerate marble with shutters richly inlaid
with mother-of-pearl. The mihrab and mimber are fine works in
carved marble.
The medrese of the complex stands at a lower level than the
mosque and is entered by a staircase in the west wall of the courtyard.