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Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque, Istanbul (or Valide Sultan Mosque at Aksaray). It was built as a complex comprising a mosque, a tomb, a sabil, a public fountain, a clock-room where timepieces for calculating prayer times accurately on a daily basis were kept, a library, and a theological school (madrasa). Some of those elements of the complex were either destroyed by fire or removed for urban arrangements of the area. The mosque follows the traditional plan of Ottoman mosques with a prayer hall cover with a single dome. The striking feature of its architecture is that the projecting central sections of the façades and the windows on the drum of the dome are executed in the Neo-Gothic style that was popular in the 19th century in Europe. There are elements both in architecture and in decoration of the Ottoman, North African, the Andalusian as well as Indian. There are different opinions regarding the identity of the architect. Some researchers think it was the Italian architect Montani Effendi, while others believe the architect was Sarkis Balyan. It has also been suggested that Agop Balyan participated in the design, and that the designer Osep assisted with construction. Source: [http://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;isl;tr;mon01;30;en&cp]

The construction of the mosque was completed in 1871 according to the inscription at the gate of the building. Pertevniyal Sultan was the wife of Mahmud II (r. 1808-1839) and the mother of Sultan Abdülaziz (r. 1861-1876). The era in which the complex was built was Westernization Period for the Ottoman Empire. The son of Pertevniyal, Sultan Abdülaziz was the first sultan who visited European capitals such as Paris, London and Vienna in summer 1867.

The monuments of prayer have always been the major focal point for societies throughout history. The style in which they were built was also important for the visual manifestation of faith. But in history there are periods when the artistic taste mingled with the taste of another faith as in the case of Mudejar Art in Spain or Siculo-Norman Art in Sicily. The case of Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque represents a similar case. The faith of the architects or the style executed in architecture is quite remarkable for the co-existence of the artistic styles, which was also accepted by the ruling authority. This might have something to do with the conversion of already existing monuments of a certain faith into a prayer hall of a new faith. This can be taken as the visual manifestation of dominance. In the case of this edifice, it is more about the taste of the era. So the question here is where the border lies between faith and artistic taste.

There is no religious influence to speak of.

- Direct visit
This is the ideal way but a virtual visit through a PPP presentation prepared by the teacher is also possible.
- Virtual visit (specify how)
A virtual visit through a PPP presentation prepared by the teacher is also possible.

- Classroom activity (pre- and post- visit)
Pre-visit: A research on religious monuments built in the taste of another faith/culture.

Post-visit: Discussion on the religious practices in a physical space that was once built for another faith or in a religious monument built in an artistic style that is connected to another faith.