Old Mosque (Edirne)

The Old Mosque (Eski Cami) is an Ottoman mosque of the early fifteenth century in the centre of Edirne, standing in the Sabuni neighbourhood along Atatürk Boulevard. When it was built, Edirne was the main Ottoman city in Rumelia and, before the conquest of Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman state. The mosque is counted among the oldest surviving examples of early Ottoman architecture in the Balkans, and it is also described as the first Ottoman building erected in Edirne. Originally known as the Great Mosque or Friday Mosque (Ulu Cami), it took its present name after the nearby Üç Şerefeli Mosque was completed.

Construction was begun in 1403 by the Ottoman prince Süleyman Çelebi, during the interregnum when the Ottoman principality was fragmented. The mosque was completed in 1414 under his brother Sultan Mehmed I, who had restored the unity of the Ottoman state.

The building was first known as the Ulu Cami or Friday Mosque. It became known as the Old Mosque after the nearby Üç Şerefeli Mosque was finished.