Üsküdar is the historical resiclental area of the Asian city. In spite of all modern Uurbanization, the district still keeps its oriental character. The ancient name of the district was "Chrysopolis", meaning the golden city. There are several stories about the name of the district. According to some of these stories, it was the golden color of the sea during the sunset; the gold coins paid as toll by the ships crossing the Bosphorus; or the gold that was forgotten here bv the Persians after their Anatoilian expedition.

During the Koman and Byzantine eras, Üsküdar was outside the city limits and developed as a military garrison. The district was named as the garrison in those years 'Scutari'. This is probably the origin of the current name. Üsküdar was embellished with different building complexes, financed and donated by the wives and the daughters of the sultans. The most important historical buildings are around the pier, however walking to the side streets one can still observe the social life of the past.

The Mosque of Mihrimah Sultan, one of the two complexes that she had Sinan built, rises on a podium behind the pier. Mihrimah was the daughter of Hürrem and Süleyman, and wife of Küstem Paşa. The mosque constructed in 1547 are among the earlier works of Sinan. The mosque has a dome that has sixteen windows and a baroque minaret.

The monumental fountain that Ahmet III had built in 1728 for her mother stands in front of the mosque. The fountain is a square with taps on the sides, and has the poems of famous poets written on. The second complex in the square is the Yeni Valide (queen mother) Mosque and its complex. It was constructed for Gülnuş EmetuIIah Hatun, wife of Mehmet IV and mother of Ahmet III in 1710. The mosque has a fabulous stone and marble workman ship, but very ordinary tile work. Among the complex buildings, there is a charity organization, a fountain, a school, and a market. Moving from the shore toward Üsküdar, we come across to a small but an elegant mosque. It is the Şemsi Pasha Mosque (Kuşkonmaz Mosque) built under the auspices of Avcıbaşı Şemsi Pasha, Vizier of Süleyman the Magnificent in 1580.

It has a single dome and minaret. There are two rotating columns by the niche. Architect Sinan constructed these columns in this way because the mosque was too close to the sea and these rotating columns served as warning indicators. The 12-room madrasah near the mosque is used as a library today.