Şahabeddin Pasha Kirazlı Mosque is a small and somewhat dull building, hiding in the shadow of the famous Selimiye Mosque, in the historical centre of Edirne. However, the history of its founder - Şahabeddin Pasha - is a fascinating example of a spectacular career that a talented person could make in the Ottoman court, even starting from very humble origins.

Şahabeddin Pasha was brought to the Ottoman court at very young age, probably of Georgian descent. He completed the Enderun School - a palace school that created Ottoman statesmen by drawing among the empire's various ethnic groups and giving them a common Muslim education. Şahabeddin first served as a eunuch - getting the honorific title hadim - in the sultan's harem and palace.

Later, he was promoted and became of the Sultan's advisors and the governor of Albania. At the height of his career, he became the provincial governor - Beylerbey - of Rumelia, first in the years 1439–42 and then again, after 1444. Şehabeddin was an ardent supporter of the expansionist policy of Ottoman Empire and a successful commander of the Ottoman forces.

He made a name as one of the most prominent Ottoman commanders in the early 15th-century Balkans. He was at a highly influential dignitary, especially during the second half of Sultan Murad II’s reign. In 1441, Şahabeddin conquered a critical Serbian silver-mining centre of Novo Brdo, having looted and burnt the town itself.

His next task was to annex Wallachia. Unfortunately, he suffered a devastating defeat in Transylvania where his army was annihilated in the Carpathian Mountains by the forces of John Hunyadi. As the punishment, Şahabeddin was dismissed from the position of the Beylerbey of Rumelia. His position was temporarily taken by Evliya Kasim Pasha, but Sultan Murad II reinstalled Şahabeddin when faced with the threat of the Christian army of the Crusade of Varna. At the beginning of the reign of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror, he withdrew from official state functions and soon afterwards died. He was buried in Plovdiv, now in Bulgaria, where his mausoleum (türbe) can be still seen.

Şahabeddin was a prolific patron of architecture, who spent his early career in Edirne. There he built the so-called Kirazlı Mosque, already mentioned above. Moreover, he sponsored the erection of two other small mosques, i.e. mescids named Kavaklı and Şahabeddin Paşa but they are no longer extant. He also built a public bath, a large mansion, and a bridge over the river Tunca. His palace burned down in a Janissary revolt and the bath has also disappeared. However, the bridge, commonly known as Saraçhane Köprüsü, has been preserved in excellent condition to our times. All those buildings in Edirne were supported by the pious foundation that Şahabeddin organised, drawing finances from multiple shops of the city.

Şahabeddin Pasha Mosque was built in Edirne in the years 1436-1437. It is widely known as Kirazlı Cami, meaning the Cherry Mosque. It is a wooden-roofed mosque with a single minaret rining from the north-east corner. This minaret with one balcony is not an original one. The two-bayed porch in front of the mosque is also the effect of the reconstruction. The mosque is covered with a dome that has the diameter of 8 meters, supported on an octagonal drum.

The interior of the mosque is lit by two rows of windows - the lower ones are rectangular, and the higher ones are finished with pointed arches. Interestingly, the mosque has the double mihrab. The first one is situated on the porch, inside a niche decorated with a muqarnas motif. The second mihrab is placed traditionally, inside the building. There is also a tiny graveyard next to the mosque.