Ahi Çelebi Camii

Ahi Çelebi Camii is located in the Eminönü district of Fatih. It is also known as “Kanlıfırın Mescidi” or “Yemişçiler Camii.” Its founder is Ahi Mehmet Çelebi. Some sources cite its construction year as 1500. The mosque was destroyed by fire twice, in 1539 and 1653, and suffered major damage during the 1892 earthquake. According to some sources, it was repaired and given a new appearance by Mimar Sinan after the first fire. Other sources indicate that renovations occurred before Mimar Sinan’s time. Evliya Çelebi states in his Seyahatname that the mosque was built with halal materials. After the 1892 earthquake, the interior of the mosque was flooded with water and remained so for a period; in 1918, the waterlogged areas were filled with earth. To reinforce its structural integrity, the columns were encircled with cut stone and supported by additional arches from two directions.

During the Haliç environmental restoration project in the 1980s, the mosque suffered further major damage. After waiting two decades for restoration, it was restored between 2005 and 2007 under the authorization of the General Directorate of Foundations by an anonymous benefactor and reopened for worship shortly thereafter. During the restoration, piles were driven into the ground to strengthen the foundation, and the collapsed minaret was rebuilt in accordance with its original design.

_{Inside the mosque, the calligraphic inscriptions "Şefaat Ya Resulallah and "Seyahat Ya Resulallah [Şuheda Osmanlıoğlu]}

Architecturally, the mosque has a rectangular plan. It is a stone and brick structure with a single dome supported by two pairs of arches. Although it has a single minaret, its prayer hall features six blind domes arranged in two rows, resting on twelve elephant-foot pillars. The interior is low and dim. The dome’s base is encircled by an iron ring. There is also a marble fountain on the front façade. The circular medallion above this fountain, commissioned by Sultan Abdülaziz, bears the inscription: “Mâşâallah, tevekkeltü Alallâh ve mâ tevfîki illâ billâh/What Allah wills happens. I have placed my trust in Allah and rely on Him. Success comes only from Allah.” The date 1281 (1864) is inscribed below.

The founder of the mosque, Ahi Çelebi, was born in 1432. His name is also recorded as Ahmed and Mahmud. Various sources state that he was originally from Shirvan or Tabriz. Ahi Çelebi practiced medicine as taught by his father. He advanced his profession by studying under prominent figures of the era, including Kutbüddin and Altunîzâde. He began his career at the Fatih Darüşşifası as a physician and later became chief physician. During the reigns of Bayezid II and Yavuz Sultan Selim, he served as chief court physician. He died in Cairo while returning from the Hajj at the age of ninety.

Evliya Çelebi describes his connection to the mosque in his Seyahatname as follows: In Muharrem of the year 1040 AH (19 August 1630), the world traveler Evliya Çelebi experienced a dream between sleep and wakefulness. In the dream, he found himself inside the Ahi Çelebi Camii at Yemiş İskelesi, where he witnessed a brilliant light as a large group of the noble Companions entered the mosque one after another: Bilal al-Habashi, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, Hz. Hamza, martyrs from Mecca and Medina, and many others. When told that the Prophet’s arrival was imminent and that he must recite the call to prayer, shortly thereafter the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) entered the mosque with Hz. Hasan on his right and Hz. Hüseyin on his left. As the divine light radiated from the mosque, Evliya, reminded by the Prophet, recited the call to prayer in the segâh maqam and performed the morning prayer. After the prayer, Evliya Çelebi approached the mihrab and kissed the hands of the Prophet (peace be upon him), trembling with reverence. Instead of saying “Şefaat Ya Resulallah” (Intercede for me, O Messenger of Allah), he said “Seyahat Ya Resulallah” (Grant me safe travels, O Messenger of Allah). The Prophet smiled and offered a prayer: “O Allah, make his intercession, his travels, and his visits easy, healthy, and blessed.” Evliya Çelebi also received advice from Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas to visit those whose hands he had kissed wherever he went, and then he began his journeys.