Çamlıca Mosque

Çamlıca Mosque crowns the highest hill on Istanbul's Asian side, a vast modern complex opened in 2019 above the Üsküdar district. Visible for miles across the Bosphorus, it is the largest mosque in Turkey, built to hold as many as sixty-three thousand worshippers across its terraces and prayer hall, and it was one of the signature building projects of its era.

Its design consciously echoes classical Ottoman masters such as Sinan, with a broad central dome ringed by cascading half-domes and six slender minarets. The tallest pair rise to a symbolic 107.1 metres, a nod to the 1071 Battle of Manzikert, while the interior blends traditional İznik-style tilework, hand-painted calligraphy and a colossal chandelier with the work of hundreds of contemporary craftspeople.

More than a mosque, the site works as a cultural campus. Beneath the prayer levels sit a museum of Islamic civilisation, an art gallery, a conference hall, a library and a workshop wing, all wrapped around landscaped courtyards and reflecting pools. From the surrounding esplanade the view sweeps over the strait to the old city's skyline, taking in the Maiden's Tower, the Bosphorus bridges and the historic peninsula beyond.

The hilltop setting makes it as much a viewpoint as a place of worship, popular at sunset when the pale domes glow against the water. It sits a short taxi or bus ride above Üsküdar's ferry piers, and step-free ramps and lifts make the terraces unusually easy to reach. Entry is free; modest dress and headscarves for women are expected, robes are lent at the door, and visits are best planned outside the five daily prayer times when the halls fill with congregants and the atmosphere turns solemn. Guided tours in several languages run through the day and help make sense of the tilework and the museum below.