mosquée Eyüp Sultan

The Eyüp Sultan Mosque is an Ottoman mosque on the European side of Istanbul, near the Golden Horn and outside the walls of Constantinople. It is named after the Companion Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, whom Turks call "Eyüp Sultan". According to the sources, it was built in 1458 and was the first mosque established by Muslims in Istanbul after the conquest. The present building dates to the early nineteenth century. The mosque complex includes a separate building housing the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, and many other graves lie around it. The shrine is visited with reverence by many Muslims.

The mosque was built in 1458, five years after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and is described in the sources as the first mosque built by Muslims in Istanbul after the conquest.

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari is recorded as having been buried outside the city walls during the Muslim attempt to take Constantinople in 52 AH, which did not succeed. According to tradition, his grave was lost for centuries until Shaykh Akshamsaddin located it before the siege of the city.

The current mosque building dates from the early nineteenth century.