Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Üsküdar

Facing the ferry landing in Üsküdar, this Sinan-designed mosque was built for Mihrimah Sultan, daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent, and completed in 1548. Its distinctive silhouette rises on a high terrace with a broad triple porch and a single dome buttressed by three half-domes, giving it an open, welcoming profile toward the Bosphorus. Damaged by earthquakes over the centuries, it has been repeatedly restored while keeping its graceful proportions. As a first landmark seen on arriving from Europe, it long served as a gateway.