The Rustem Pasa Mosque was built by famous Grand Vizier and son in law of Suleyman the Magnificent Rustem Pasha, the husband of Mihrimah Sultan. The mosque was designed by Sinan and is among the best small mosque of the city. The style used at that mosque is very different from the simplicity of Sinan and that period.

Rustem Pasa Mosque suffered damage in a fire in 1660. After the earthquake of Istanbul in 1776, both the minaret and the dome of the mosque came to the ground. It was renovated but during the renovation, the ruined dome and minaret fell short of the reality of the structure of Sinan the Architect.