The Tophane, or more commonly, the Nusretiye Mosque, was built between 1823 and 1826 by Sultan Mahmud II (1784-1839) as part of the larger project to rebuild the arsenal and barracks that had been burned in a fire. The mosque is situated in the Beyoglu district of the city, near the site of the Canon foundry established by Mehmed II (1432-1481). The mosque was built in what is called the 'empire' style, designed by the architect Krikor Balyan, who worked for the royal family. The Prince of Wales and his party visited the arsenal area on 21 May 1862. The prince later watched the Sultan and his entourage process to the mosque for prayers on Friday. The photograph is signed and captioned in the negative, 'F Bedford Constantinople'. See RCIN 2861677 for another print of this image.