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The Fatih Mosque, built between 1463 and 1470 on the site of the Church of the Holy Apostles, was severely damaged in the 1766 earthquake and rebuilt in 1771 with a different design. It is named after Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who captured Constantinople in 1453.
The original mosque had a central dome supported by a single semi-dome, while the rebuilt version follows a Baroque style with a square plan, a central dome, and four semi-domes. Only the courtyard, entrance portal, and lower minarets remain from the original. The interior mimics designs by Sinan, with a 26-meter dome, large marble columns, and two minarets. The calligraphy and mimbar show Baroque influences, but the tiles lack the grandeur of İznik ceramics. The original mihrab survives.
As an imperial külliye, the mosque complex included eight symmetrical medreses, once accommodating a thousand students. A dervish inn, featuring salvaged columns from the Church of the Holy Apostles, stands southeast of the mosque, facing the türbe of Nakşidil Sultan, mother of Mahmud II.
The graveyard holds the tombs of Sultan Mehmed II and Gülbahar Hatun, reconstructed after the earthquake. The lavishly decorated tomb of Mehmed II was a ceremonial site for new sultans after receiving the Sword of Osman. The graveyard also houses notable figures, including Gazi Osman Pasha and historian Halil İnalcık.
Attached to the mosque is the Carullah Efendi Library, built in 1724 and currently under restoration. The külliye's original hospital, market, kitchens, and bathhouse have been lost, but the caravanserai was restored in the 1980s and now functions as a workplace.
The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.