The Ortakoy Mosque is situated on the waterside of the Ortaköy pier square in the Beşiktaş District, one of the most popular locations on the Bosphorus. The mosque was built on the order of Abdulmecid (1839-1861), the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, and was constructed by the Nigoğos Balyan in 1853. It was during the same century that the mosque rose to a higher level of importance on the European side of Istanbul. It is also known as “Great Mecidiye Mosque” and is one of the most beautiful samples of the Baroque architecture in Istanbul.
