trucks’ worth of slime from the cistern. Then the magnificent gallery, cistern and water gauge became visible. The Ottomans used a modern system according to contemporary earthquake regulations." The cistern covers an area 2,242 square meters, boasts 825 square meters(8,880 sq.ft.) of usable area, and is being considered as a future location for a museum. It was discovered that the mosque sits on an older structure that was built using a bored-pile foundation. The oldest bored-pile foundation in the history of Turkish architecture found to date. Current role A historic site and notable landmark in Istanbul tourism, the mosque is used daily as a place of worship. In 2018 the Yeditepe Biennial art exhibition, organized under the administration of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, utilized the cistern of the complex to display works of art that showcased both traditional and modern Turkish art. Gallery See also Islamic architecture List of mosques Ottoman architecture References Nuruosmaniye Complex at ArchNet.org Nuruosmaniye Mosque at GreatIstanbul.com External links Images of Nuruosmaniye Mosque 19th century images of mosque Religious buildings and structures completed in 1755 Ottoman mosques in Istanbul Fatih 18th-century mosques World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey Baroque mosques of the Ottoman Empire