ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the distinctive physical qualities and functional features of the Atik Valide within its urban context. In this chapter, the architectonic and organizational materialization of this monument is inspected with relation to its chosen site. The inspection shows that the külliye’s plot, layout, and scope of services closely correlated with Nurbanu’s personal image-making mission as well as her wider aspiration to render Üsküdar a new urban center of Sunni and Sufi coexistence. The chapter demonstrates the important role the Atik Valide played in the development of its fledgling urban surrounding, quickly transforming it into a vibrant hub of religious, social, and commercial activity. In this larger context, the Atik Valide is compared with the other mosque complexes built for imperial women in Üsküdar, whose majestic landscape and spiritual environment they shaped competitively and collectively.
