The Underground Mosque (Yeraltı Camii)

Istanbul · Turkiet · Historic building

A sheikh dreamed of two forgotten graves under the quay — and when the Byzantine dungeon was dug open, they lay exactly where he said.

Beneath the streets behind Karaköy's ferry landing lies a room of fifty-four columns with a ceiling so low you walk stooped. The structure is Byzantine and has served as dungeon, powder magazine and cistern. In the 17th century one of the scholars of the day is said to have dreamed that two men of the Prophet's companions, fallen during the Arab siege almost a thousand years earlier, lay buried beneath this very vault. The sultan had dream-interpreters test the vision and ordered digging — and the graves were found where the dream had placed them. The magazine became a mosque, and to this day you descend into the dark to two tomb chambers walled in among the columns, with only lamps between you and the stone. The air down there is cool in the August heat, and footsteps come from the wrong direction.

FAQ

Where is The Underground Mosque (Yeraltı Camii) located?

The Underground Mosque (Yeraltı Camii) is in Istanbul, Turkiet.

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