Saint Paul Church

There are many amusing tourist routes and beautiful places of interest in Galata district of Istanbul. One of them has a unique aura and charm.

A beautiful building of dark stone in neo-Gothic style is located on Tersane Avenue and Mahkemesi Street. It has long narrow windows and plenty of vertical lines in its design.
As you have already guessed, this is Arap Camii Mosque.

History

It is known that in the past Arap mosque was a Christian church of St. Paul, but nothing was virtually left from the Christian past of this holy place. The only thing that reminds of the church of St. Paul is its minaret, standing on the very spot where the tower of the Christian Church was once located.

The period of construction of this mosque is almost unknown. Presumably, it was built by the Arabs who surrounded Istanbul. According to another version, during the times of Byzantine Empire there was Mesa Domenico church, which has been converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul and called the Galata Camii.

Name

It has got its name "Arap Mosque" as a result of the fact that starting from 1492 Andalusian Arabs from Spain began to settle in the neighborhoods surrounding the mosque.

Life of the holy place

For a long period of its existence this holy place has endured fires and other misfortunes. After the fires during the reign of Sultan Mehmed III and the fire of 1731 the mosque was restored by order of Saliha Sultan, the mother of Sultan Mahmud I. In 1807 it was restored again after a strong fire. Besides, the mosque has been restored twice in 1868 and 1913.