Database: Fatih Camii

Fatih Camii

Fatih Camii or "Faith Mosque" was built by the Turks just after the conquest of Constantinople, and was the first mosque of Ottoman origin in the city. As one amusing story goes, after Sultan Mehmet realized that the dome of Fatih Camii was built smaller than Hagia Sophia's, he had the architect's hand cut off for lack of ambition.

This, the architect felt, was unfair, and after his wound healed he contacted a local member of the Ottoman judiciary for legal counsel. The judge, surprisingly, sided with the architect and ordered that the Sultan's arm be cut off in retribution. This did not happen, of course, but the very fact that the judge sided with a civilian over his Sultan—and was not reprimanded—is noteworthy.