The Rahime Sultan Mosque was built in 1892 by Peruste Rahime Sultan, described by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as the fourth wife of Abdülmecid, and it stands at Uzunkum in Sapanca, just behind the village primary school. It is built in masonry stone and brick, with arched windows on the front, and it is domed. It is one of the few mosques in the area to have kept its original form, though it was repaired after the earthquake of 1967 and its minaret, damaged in the earthquake of 17 August 1999, collapsed and was rebuilt.
The details worth looking for are the original ones. Above the middle window on the front is the tugra of Sultan Abdülmecid. The minbar dates from the mosque's own period, and the chandelier and the gallery are original as well, as are the floor tiles at the front of the interior. There is no painted decoration inside; what you see instead is Islamic calligraphy in frames, and carved ornament. An Ottoman Turkish inscription stands on the landing. The cemetery is on the left side of the mosque. Uzunkum is twelve kilometres from the town centre.
The minaret came down in the earthquake of 17 August 1999 and was rebuilt afterwards. There is an Ottoman Turkish inscription on the landing, and a graveyard lies on the left side of the mosque. The road to it is asphalt and it can be visited in any season.
Getting there
- Access
- Twelve kilometres from the city centre; city transport reaches it.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Sakarya as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 6.3 °C in January to 23.6 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June, July, August, September and October; rainfall is heaviest in December (106 mm) and lightest in August (48 mm). Long-term means for 1951-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
