Why go
The mosque is the core of a külliye (mosque complex) that Mimar Sinan built for Mihrimah Sultan, the daughter of Süleyman the Magnificent. The inscription over the main gate records its completion in Dhu'l-Hijja 954 (1547–48), and it was Sinan's first work in Üsküdar. Its plan is regarded as the start of ideas he developed later: the central dome is carried on half-domes on three sides, but the entrance side has none, a departure from the four-half-dome scheme of his Şehzade Mosque. A five-domed last-congregation porch is wrapped on three sides by a second, timber-roofed porch that shelters the marble ablution fountain (şadırvan) and takes the sea wind off the entrance; the mosque has two single-balcony minarets. Of the wider complex the mosque, the medrese (now a health centre), the children's school (sıbyan mektebi, now a children's library) and the tombs survive. There are two mosques with this name in Istanbul: this one is in Üsküdar, on the Asian side. The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque at Edirnekapı, in Fatih, is a separate building about 6.7 km away.
Getting there
A working mosque on İskele Meydanı, the square by Üsküdar's ferry pier (address given by the Ministry of National Education's visit portal: Paşalimanı Caddesi No:2, Mimar Sinan Mahallesi). The Directorate General of Foundations lists it as restored and open for worship, and the portal lists it as open to visitors every day, all day (read 22 September 2026); neither gives visiting hours, and prayer times will shape when you can go in. The portal's visit notes ask visitors to dress in a way that suits a mosque, to use the headscarves and wraps kept at the entrance, to keep their voices down and not to walk in front of people who are praying. The mosque stands in a wide outer courtyard about two metres above the shore road, and that courtyard is entered through a gate reached by steps (TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi).
Best time to visit
No season is better documented than another. The mosque is a place of worship all year, so plan around the day's prayer times rather than the calendar.
Through the year
No seasonal closure or seasonal operating pattern is published for this mosque. The Ministry of National Education's portal, read on 22 September 2026, lists it as open every day. Access is governed by prayer times, which change through the year with sunrise and sunset.
Safety
It is a place of worship. According to the Ministry of National Education's visit notes, dress in a way that suits a mosque, use the headscarves and wraps provided at the entrance, speak quietly, and do not walk in front of anyone praying.
Public transport
The mosque stands on İskele Meydanı, the square at Üsküdar's ferry pier, so it is at the end of the ferry crossing from the European shore.
Accessibility
The approach to the courtyard is by steps, so a stroller or wheelchair user should expect to be helped up them. No official source publishes a step-free gate, a stroller policy or a ramp; ask at the mosque or at Üsküdar Müftülüğü before you go if this matters. No official source describes toilets, baby-changing or seating here.