Uskudar is a district on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, with narrow streets lined with wooden houses, which has mamages to preserve some authentic oriental character. There are a numerous of hans, bahts, medreses, mosques, fountains and turbes lending to this effect. It is a place not to be missed by the visitor to Istanbul. Jere are the fascinating gravestones of a very old Turkish graveyard, the Karacaahmet Cemetery. Other places of interest in the vicinity include the Selimiye Barracks, dating from the Ottoman period. the period railway station of Haydarpasa and finally Kadikoy (Chalcedon) itself.

   The Greeks called Uskudar as Chrysopolis and it was known as the port of Chalcedon, a very well known town. Xenephon passes here with an army of 10.000 in the fourth century B.C. and 324 A.D., Constantine I defeated his rival Licinius here.The district became independent It was sub sequently sacked twice during the Turkish period it became an important trade center. Mosques and caravansarais were built there. It was the end of the Anatolian trade route, and the start of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca. With the construction of Baghdad railway, Uskudar gradually lost his importance.

   Travelling to Uskudar by boat from Eminonu, on arrival at Uskudar one sees the fountain of Ahmet III on the square behind the quay. Built in 1728, it is like the fountain before Topkapi Palace which it resembles, Rococco in style, with all the features of the Tulip period. Immediately behinde the fountain stands the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, otherwise known as Iskele mosque. It was built by architect Sinan in 1547 for Mihrimah Sultan, daughter of Suleiman I and wife of Rustem Pacha. South of the square is the Yeni Valide mosque, built for Glnus, the mother of Ahmed III. Her round mausoleum flanks the mosque. The stone tomb has no roof, but is covered by an iron, dome shaped grill. The open roof may have been an expression of the desire of the deceased for the blessing of God to rain upon her soul. In islam, the rain is regarded as Godīs mercy.

   The mosque was completed in 1710 and the dowager sultan was buried in the tomb in 1716.

   Further the west stands a small mosque on the quayside, the Semsi Pacha Mosque (also known as Kuskonmaz Mosque) which was built in 1580 by Sinan for the vizier-poet Semsi Pacha.