Grand Çamlıca Mosque

Büyük Çamlıca Camii opened in 2019 on the highest hill on the Asian side, and it is built to be seen from everywhere - a central dome seventy-two metres high on six minarets, with a prayer hall holding tens of thousands, making it the largest mosque in the country. The design is deliberately classical, drawing on Sinan's plans rather than attempting anything modern, executed in new stone with contemporary engineering and finished with tilework, calligraphy and a very large chandelier. Underneath and around it are a museum, an art gallery, a library, a conference hall and parking, so the complex functions as a cultural centre as well as a mosque. The terrace is the part most visitors remember: the hill gives a long view over the Bosphorus, the bridges and the old city skyline across the water. It is a recent building and a politically discussed one; what is not in dispute is the scale and the view.

What you actually see

• The great dome - the central hall and its six minarets.
• The prayer hall - calligraphy, tilework and the main chandelier.
• The terrace view - the Bosphorus and old city from the hill.
• The complex below - museum, gallery and library spaces.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Late afternoon for the view and the light; Friday midday and prayer times are closed to visitors.

Honest expectations

It is a modern building, not a historic one - visitors expecting Ottoman-era fabric should know that. Working mosque rules apply. The hill needs a taxi or bus; there is no metro at the door.

Nearby

Çamlıca Tower is on the same hill; Üsküdar and Kuzguncuk are down on the shore.