Attempts have been made to associate the structure with the famous imperial architect Mimar Sinan, but there is no supporting documentary evidence, and the date of the mosque is too early.

The mosque was built on a terrace overlooking the Cistern of Aspar, the largest of the three Roman reservoirs in Constantinople.

These are similar to the lunette panels above the windows on either side of the fireplace in the Circumcision Room (Sünnet Odası) of the Topkapı Palace and were almost certainly made by the same group of Iranian craftsmen working for the Ottoman court.

Located in the garden behind the mosque and overlooking the Golden Horn is the türbe of Sultan Selim I which was completed in 1523.

[5] A second octagonal türbe with a long inscription carved into the stonework of the exterior contains the tombs of three sons of Suleiman the Magnificent (Mahmud, Murad and Abdullah) and two daughters of Selim I (Hafize Hafsa and Hatice).