The New Mosque (Yeni Camii) in Istanbul, full name The New Queen Mother's Mosque (Yeni Valide Camii), is not so new - it was built in the 1600s.

Designed by the architect Da'ud Aga, a pupil of Sinan, the Yeni Camii has become a defining feature of Istanbul's skyline.

Begun by Valide Safiye, mother of Mehmet III, in 1597, the foundations of this mosque were laid at the water's edge in a neighborhood slum whose inhabitants had to be paid to move out.

The building of the mosque dragged on for over 40 years due to water seepage, funding problems, embezzlement, and the death of the sultan, which temporarily shut down operations completely.

The mosque was completed by another queen mother, Valide Sultan Turhan Hattice, mother of Mehmet IV.

The New Mosque looms over the harbor at Eminonu, greeting the incoming ferryboats and welcoming tourists to the old city.

Its graceful domes and arches shelter hundreds of pigeons who make this area their home. Colorful Iznik tiles decorate what was once the sultan's balcony.

Valide Sultan Turhan Hattice is buried in the valide sultan's tomb in the courtyard along with sultans Mehmet IV, Mustafa II, Ahmet III, and Mahmut I.