Marc David Baer has written that imperial mosques in the
Ottoman Empire marked the boundaries of Ottoman territory and supported political and hegemonic interests. The Yeni Valide Mosque or
New Mosque project had started while
Mehmed IIIs mother,
Safiye Sultan, was
Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, but the project was abandoned for several decades after her death. Construction of the site's foundation had initially started on land that had been taken from the non-Muslims in the area of
Eminönü in Constantinople, but they had started to return to nearby areas. The imperial family remained uninterested in completing the New Mosque project until the fire destroyed the entire area between
Unkapanı and Eminönü in 1660, after which the non-Muslim population was once again deprived of their properties. When the government began to rebuild the city a ban was issued forbidding the reconstruction of churches and synagogues. The young Grand Vizier
Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed invited the
Kadizadeli preacher Vani Mehmet Efendi to Constantinople. Upon Vani's advice, the sultan forbade consumption of tobacco, coffee and alcohol and insisted on strict enforcement of Islamic law. He destroyed
Sufi tombs and either exiled or executed Sufi leaders. Vani claimed that the disproportionate destruction of Jewish property in the Great Fire was a sign of divine displeasure. He supported legislation barring them from returning to the area. Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed confiscated all the lands where synagogues had stood and auctioned them. Non-Muslims were forbidden from bidding on the properties.
Turhan Sultan sponsored the construction of the New Mosque. It opened in 1665 and Vani Mehmet Efendi became its first preacher. After a time, Christians were allowed to buy back the land where churches had stood and rebuild them. The rebuilt churches were officially listed as residential buildings. ==References==