Despite my many pasts visits to Istanbul, I saw this historic site for the first time in 2024. I hadn’t even known it existed. I discovered it only when reading about the Eyüp Sultan Mosque. As this district lies far from the city’s central areas, I suspect that very few foreigners visit it. Indeed, in both 2024 and 2025 when I went, I saw no foreign tourists, only local worshippers, despite the fact that this is one of Istanbul’s most important religious landmarks.
The Eyüp Sultan Mosque stands as a place of worship and also as a symbol of the enduring religious and architectural legacy of the Ottoman Empire. It remains a key pilgrimage site for Muslims, particularly because of its association with Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari was a close companion and the standard bearer of the Prophet Muhammad. As one of the Ansar (the helpers) in early Islamic history, he supported Muhammad after the migration to Medina in 622.
When visiting the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, visit the Mihrişah Valide Sultan as well. Following the mosque’s reconstruction by Sultan Selim, the Ottoman dynasty renewed its interest in the surrounding area.
MIHRIŞAH VALIDE SULTAN COMPLEX
The complex stands along the Cülus Yolu (Accession Way). Due to its special sanctity, the mosque played a key role in the coronation ceremonies of Ottoman sultans. Newly ascended rulers would process along the grand Cülus Yolu, to be girded with the Sword of Osman, making the start of their reign.
The complex ncludes several important structures, such as an imaret (soup kitchen), a mausoleum and a sebil, all designed in the distinctive Ottoman Baroque style.
Mihrişah Valide Sultan, the mother of Sultan Selim III, commissioned the construction of the complex in the late 18th century. It was completed in 1796.
The mausoleum houses the remains of Mihrişah Valide Sultan and it adds to the historical and architectural significance of the site.
OTTOMAN SOUP KITCHEN
The imaret, one of the last remaining functional soup kitchens from the Ottoman era, continues to stand as a testament to the social welfare programs that were an essential aspect of Ottoman philanthropy.
This underscores that abject poverty existed during Ottoman times, there were people who depended on daily food assistance. It also shows that poverty was an ingrained part of Ottoman society. I wonder what measures, if any, the upper echelons of Ottoman society undertook to eliminate poverty rather than merely alleviate it by establishing institutions like this soup kitchen.
In other words, while the ruling class lived in great luxury, many struggled and had to rely on such facilities to survive.
There is no visible abject poverty in Istanbul today, at least I haven’t seen it. That doesn’t mean that there are no people who are poor, unable to work or unable to earn a living. The continued operation of this Ottoman soup kitchen suggests that many people still need assistance with food.
In that respect, it is commendable that this food bank exists and continues to help people in the very way Mihrişah Valide Sultan envisioned more than 200 years ago. Yet, the real goal, in Turkey and everywhere else, should be to create a society where people can work, earn and live dignified lives without relying on the help of others.
OTTOMAN BAROQUE AT ITS BEST
If you ever visit the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, make sure to explore the Mihrişah Valide Sultan Complex as well. You will have the opportunity experience Ottoman Baroque architecture at its finest.
You will also encounter a resting place of a figure in Ottoman history whom very few people know about. Yet, her legacy endures through this magnificent complex, ensuring her name lives on for as long as the site and, especially, its Ottoman soup kitchen continues to exist.
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