Name of Object:

Nusretiye Mosque and Tophane Square

Location:

Istanbul, Türkiye

Holding Institution:

Pera Museum

 About Pera Museum, Istanbul

Date of Object:

Mid-19th century

Author:

James Robertson  (1813, London-1888, Yokohama)

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Acid Paper

Dimensions:

W: 262 + H: 293 cm

Description:

James Robertson arrived in Istanbul in 1840 and started work as head etcher in Ottoman Mint. He began taking photos of Istanbul soon after. There was previously a mosque located on the site of the current Mosque, which was known as the Mosque of the Artillery Barracks (Tophane-i Amire Arabacilar Kislasi Camii) built by Selim III (1789-1807). When that mosque was destroyed by the Firuzaga fire, the Nusretiye Mosque, located on Meclis-i Mebusan Street in the Tophane District of Beyoglu, was built on the order of Sultan Mahmud (1784-1839), and was constructed by the Krikor Amira Balyan. The construction lasted from 1823 to 1826 and was broadly restored between the years of 1955 and 1958, and partially again between 1980 and 1992. While its architecture is influenced by Islamic elements, it retains a Baroque style, making it unique to the city.

Archival or Bibliographical Reference:

Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation

Citation of this web page:

"Nusretiye Mosque and Tophane Square" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;tr;25;en

Copyedited by: Daniel de la VegaDaniel de la Vega

Daniel de la Vega is a copy editor based in Portland, Oregon. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in linguistics from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2014 and has since done editing and localization work on everything from college applications to magazines to video game dialogue.

MWNF Working Number: TR2 021