Wender·Vista
Fatih Istanbul Mosque
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTurkey
in the old city of Istanbul, on the third hill above the Golden Horn

Fatih Istanbul Mosque

— — the mosque the Conqueror laid over the city he took.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Fatih Camii sits on the third hill of old Istanbul, the place Mehmed II chose for his great mosque after the city fell in 1453. The first building came down in an earthquake; the one standing now is the eighteenth-century rebuilding. The conqueror's tomb is in the courtyard, and the neighbourhood around it is the most observant in the city.

from the studio
Fatih Istanbul Mosque
— bring it home

Fatih Istanbul Mosque, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Fatih Istanbul Mosque

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Fatih Mosque stands in the Fatih district of Istanbul, on the third of the old city's seven hills, above the Golden Horn. The first mosque on the site was built between 1463 and 1470 by order of Sultan Mehmed II, on the ruins of the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles. After an earthquake in 1766 destroyed most of the original, Sultan Mustafa III rebuilt it in an Ottoman Baroque style; that building, completed in 1771, is what stands today.

— the stone

The current structure follows the central-dome plan of Hagia Sophia, with a 26-metre main dome flanked by half-domes and two minarets. The original 15th-century complex was a külliye, a charitable foundation that included madrasas, a hospital, a caravanserai, kitchens, and a library, funded by Mehmed II's endowment and arranged around the mosque on the city's third hill. Several of those subsidiary buildings still survive, in modified form, around the courtyard.

— the visit

The mosque is open daily outside of prayer times, and there is no admission fee, in keeping with practice across Turkey's working mosques. Modest dress is expected; shoulders and knees covered, women's hair covered with a scarf available at the door. The tomb of Mehmed II, the Fatih Türbesi, stands in the qibla-side courtyard and draws visitors throughout the year, particularly on the anniversary of the conquest each May.

— where
Turkey · Fatih, Istanbul
— position
41.0192° N · 28.9501° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km N
Aqueduct of Valens
Roman aqueduct
2 km E
Süleymaniye Mosque
imperial mosque
2 km E
Grand Bazaar
covered market
N
Fatih Istanbul Mosque
Aqueduct of Valens
Süleymaniye Mosque
Grand Bazaar
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Fatih Istanbul Mosque — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The original was built between 1463 and 1470 by Sultan Mehmed II, called Fatih, on the site of the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles. The current building dates to a 1771 rebuilding under Mustafa III.

Fatih means 'the Conqueror' in Turkish, the title given to Sultan Mehmed II after he took Constantinople in 1453. The mosque, his tomb, and the surrounding district all carry his epithet.

The 1771 rebuilding is Ottoman Baroque, a hybrid of classical Ottoman geometry with the curving European Baroque ornament that entered Istanbul in the 18th century. The dome plan still echoes Hagia Sophia.

His tomb, the Fatih Türbesi, stands in the courtyard on the qibla side of the mosque. His mother Gülbahar Hatun is interred in a separate türbe nearby. Both are open to visitors.

Yes. The mosque is open to all visitors outside of the five daily prayer times. Modest dress is expected, and headscarves are provided for women at the entrance.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for that. Fatih is the most historically rooted neighbourhood in the old city, and many Istanbulites have family there. A Medium with a handwritten studio note travels well.

The piece reads in Ottoman-revival, Moorish-modern, and Jewel-tone Maximalist rooms. The dome geometry and warm-stone palette sit against carved wood, kilim, and brass particularly well.

Yes. Heritage interiors have moved back toward specific cultural anchoring rather than generic 'world' décor. A named mosque carries more weight than abstract arches in that turn.

A single Large reads at console scale. For a sofa or dining wall, a 4-tile Mural carries the dome more fully. A 9-tile Mural anchors a larger room.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam and splash. Glossy is reserved for dry display.

A microfibre cloth, dry or lightly damp. No sprays, no abrasives. The colour is inside the ceramic surface, not painted on top.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is curated and hand-finished in our Knoxville studio. We do not license third-party imagery.

— if this one stayed with you

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