The Architecture of The Ottoman Empire 88

HAGIA SOPHIA Introduction For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia served as a model for many of the Ottoman mosques such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul), the Şehzade Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, and the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque. 89

HAGIA SOPHIA Introduction 90

HAGIA SOPHIA Introduction 91

HAGIA SOPHIA Introduction In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features — such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside — were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans 92

HAGIA SOPHIA Introduction Its spacious nave is covered by a lofty central dome carried on pendentives, a device not previously employed in monumental construction. Pendentives make possible support of the dome on a square framework of four huge equal arches resting on huge piers 93

HAGIA SOPHIA Introduction The arches at the east and west are extended and buttressed by great half domes, while the half domes in turn are carried on smaller semidomed exedrae. A vast oblong interior, 102 ft (31 m) by 265 ft (81 m), is thus created from a succession of domical elements that build up to the main dome, 102 ft (31 m) in diameter and 184 ft (56 m) high, in which a corona of 40 arched windows sheds a flood of light on the interior. 94

HAGIA SOPHIA Introduction The vast interior is thus wholly free of suggestion of ponderous load, and its effect is that of a weightless golden shell that seems to possess a miraculous inherent stability. . 95

HAGIA SOPHIA Introduction All interior surfaces are sheathed with polychrome marbles and gold mosaic, encrusted upon the brick core of the structure; most of the magnificent figure mosaics have been cleaned and restored to view. Externally, the broad, smooth surfaces of stuccoed walls and the great unconcealed masses of vaults and domes pile up impressively. Hagia Sophia served as model for several of the great Turkish mosques of Constantinople. 96

HAGIA SOPHIA Introduction The vast interior is thus wholly free of suggestion of ponderous load, and its effect is that of a weightless golden shell that seems to possess a miraculous inherent stability. . 97

Süleymaniye Mosque Introduction 98 1550 – 1557 Architect: Mimar Sinan

Introduction Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque (Turkish: Süleymaniye Camii) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the second Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It is the second largest mosque in the city, and one of the best-known sights of Istanbul. The Süleymaniye Mosque was built on the order of Sultan Suleiman I (Suleiman the Magnificent) and was constructed by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan 99

Introduction Süleymaniye Mosque Sinan considered the design to be an architectural counterpoint to the Byzantine Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia, converted into a mosque under Mehmed II, served as a model to many Ottoman mosques in Istanbul. However, Sinan's Süleymaniye is a more symmetrical, rationalized and light-filled interpretation of earlier Ottoman precedents, as well as the Hagia Sophia. It is possible that dialogue between Italy and Istanbul contributed to Sinan's enthusiasm for symmetrical and rational forms, as promoted by writers like Alberti. 100

Interior of the Süleymaniye Süleymaniye Mosque Introduction Interior of the Süleymaniye As with other imperial mosques in Istanbul, the mosque itself is preceded by a monumental courtyard (avlu) on its west side. The courtyard at the Süleymaniye is of exceptional grandeur with a colonnaded peristyle with columns of marble, granite and porphyry. At the four corners of the courtyard are the four minarets, a number only allowable to mosques endowed by a sultan (princes and princesses could construct two minarets; others only one). The minarets have a total of 10 galleries (serifes), which by tradition indicates that Suleiman I was the 10th Ottoman sultan. 101

Süleymaniye Mosque Introduction 102

Introduction Süleymaniye Mosque The main dome is 53 meters high and has a diameter of 26.5 meters. At the time it was built, the dome was the highest in the Ottoman Empire, when measured from sea level, but still lower from its base and smaller in diameter than that of Hagia Sophia. 103

Introduction Süleymaniye Mosque The interior of the mosque is almost a square, 59 meters in length and 58 meters in width, forming a single vast space. The dome is flanked by semi-domes, and to the north and south arches with tympana-filled windows, supported by enormous porphyry monoliths. Sinan made of a radical architectural innovation to mask the huge north-south buttresses needed to support these central piers. 104

Introduction Süleymaniye Mosque He incorporated the buttresses into the walls of the building, with half projecting inside and half projecting outside, and then hid the projections by building colonnaded galleries. There is a single gallery inside the structure, and a two-story gallery outside. The interior decoration is subtle, with very restrained use of Iznik tiles. The white marble mihrab and mimbar are also simple in design, and woodwork is restrained, with simple designs in ivory and mother of pearl. . 105

Introduction Selimiye Mosque 106 1568 Groundbreaking 1574 Year completed

Introduction Selimiye Mosque The Selimiye Mosque (Turkish: Selimiye Camii) is an Ottoman mosque in the city of Edirne, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1574. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture. 107

Introduction Selimiye Mosque This grand mosque stands at the center of a külliye (complex of a hospital, school, library and/or baths around a mosque) which comprises a medrese (Islamic academy teaches both Islamic and scientific lessons), a dar-ül hadis (Al-Hadith school), a timekeeper's room and an arasta (row of shops). In this mosque Sinan employed an octagonal supporting system that is created through eight pillars incised in a square shell of walls. The four semi domes at the corners of the square behind the arches that spring from the pillars, are intermediary sections between the huge encompassing dome (31.25m diameter with spherical profile) 108

Introduction Selimiye Mosque Interior While conventional mosques were limited by a segmented interior, Sinan's effort at Edirne was a structure that made it possible to see the mihrab from any location within the mosque. Surrounded by four tall minarets, the Mosque of Selim II has a grand dome atop it. Around the rest of the mosque were many additions: libraries, schools, hospices, baths, soup kitchens for the poor, markets, hospitals, and a cemetery. These annexes were aligned axially and grouped, if possible. In front of the mosque sits a rectangular court with an area equal to that of the mosque. The innovation however, comes not in the size of the building, but from the organization of its interior 109

Selimiye Mosque Introduction 110

Introduction Selimiye Mosque The mihrab is pushed back into an apse-like alcove with a space with enough depth to allow for window illumination from three sides. This has the effect of making the tile panels of its lower walls sparkle with natural light. The amalgamation of the main hall forms a fused octagon with the dome-covered square. Formed by eight massive dome supports, the octagon is pierced by four half dome covered corners of the square. The beauty resulting from the conformity of geometric shapes engulfed in each other was the culmination of Sinan's life long search for a unified interior space. 111

Introduction Selimiye Mosque By Selimiye Mosque Mimar Sinan finally realized his aim of creating the optimum, completely unified, domed interior : a triumph of space that dominates the interior 112

Architect: Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa BLUE MOSQUE Introduction Sultan Ahmed Mosque 1616 Architect: Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa 113

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque); Istanbul, Turkey - built across from the Hagia Sofia 114 Old photo of the Blue Mosque, taken before 1895.

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BLUE MOSQUE Introduction The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii) is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923). The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. While still used as a mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque has also become a popular tourist attraction. 116

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction Exterior The façade of the spacious forecourt was built in the same manner as the façade of the Süleymaniye Mosque, except for the addition of the turrets on the corner domes. The court is about as large as the mosque itself and is surrounded by a continuous, rather monotonous, vaulted arcade (revak). It has ablution facilities on both sides. 117

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction Exterior The central hexagonal fountain is rather small in contrast with the dimensions of the courtyard. The monumental but narrow gateway to the courtyard stands out architecturally from the arcade. Its semi-dome has a fine stalactite structure, crowned by a rather small ribbed dome on a tall drum. 118

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction The main dome and some of the blue tiles that have given the mosque its nickname At its lower levels and at every pier, the interior of the mosque is lined with more than 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles, made at Iznik (the ancient Nicaea) in more than fifty different tulip designs. The tiles at lower levels are traditional in design, while at gallery level their design becomes flamboyant with representations of flowers, fruit and cypresses. 119

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction More than 20,000 tiles were made under the supervision of the Iznik master potter Kasap Haci,and Baris Efendi from Avanos(Cappadocia). The price to be paid for each tile was fixed by the sultan's decree, while tile prices in general increased over time. As a result, the quality of the tiles used in the building decreased gradually. Their colours have faded and changed (red turning into brown and green into blue, mottled whites) and the glazes have dulled. The tiles on the back balcony wall are recycled tiles from the harem in the Topkapı Palace, when it was damaged by fire in 1574. 120

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction 121 The prayer area of the mosque is lit up by a chandelier hanging from the ceiling

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction The upper levels of the interior are dominated by blue paint, but it is of poor quality. More than 200 stained glass windows with intricate designs admit natural light, today assisted by chandeliers. On the chandeliers, ostrich eggs are found that were meant to avoid cobwebs inside the mosque by repelling spiders. The decorations include verses from the Qur'an, many of them made by Seyyid Kasim Gubari, regarded as the greatest calligrapher of his time. The floors are covered with carpets, which are donated by faithful people and are regularly replaced as they wear out. The many spacious windows confer a spacious impression. The casements at floor level are decorated with opus sectile. Each exedra has five windows, some of which are blind. Each semi-dome has 14 windows and the central dome 28 (four of which are blind). The coloured glass for the windows was a gift of the Signoria of Venice to the sultan. Most of these coloured windows have by now been replaced by modern versions with little or no artistic merit. 122

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction The most important element in the interior of the mosque is the mihrab, which is made of finely carved and sculptured marble, with a stalactite niche and a double inscriptive panel above it. The adjacent walls are sheathed in ceramic tiles. But the many windows around it make it look less spectacular. To the right of the mihrab is the richly decorated minber, or pulpit, where the Imam stands when he is delivering his sermon at the time of noon prayer on Fridays or on holy days. The mosque has been designed so that even when it is at its most crowded, everyone in the mosque can see and hear the Imam 123

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction 124 Blue Mosque Ceiling Blue Tiles

BLUE MOSQUE Introduction Four minarets stand at the corners of the mosque. Each of these fluted, pencil-shaped minarets has three balconies (ṣerefe) with stalactite corbels, while the two others at the end of the forecourt only have two balconies. Until recently the muezzin or prayer-caller had to climb a narrow spiral staircase five times a day to announce the call to prayer. Today a public address system is used, and the call can be heard across the old part of the city, echoed by other mosques in the vicinity. Large crowds of both Turks and tourists gather at sunset in the park facing the mosque to hear the call to evening prayers, as the sun sets and the mosque is brilliantly illuminated by colored floodlights. 125

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BLUE MOSQUE Introduction Bayezid II Mosque 129

Bayezid II Mosque Introduction 130

Bayezid II Mosque Introduction The Beyazidye Camii was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II, and was the second large imperial mosque complex to be erected in Istanbul after the Conquest. Stones for construction were brought from the famous Church of the Life-giving Spring destroyed by the Turks. As the earliest complex, the Fatih Mosque was subsequently destroyed by earthquakes and completely rebuilt in a different style, the Beyazidye complex is thus of considerable historical and architectural significance. Little is known about the architect other than that he also built a caravansary in Bursa; however, the polished style of the mosque itself indicates experience with earlier Ottoman and western architectural techniques. The surrounding külliye complex (madrasah, primary school, imaret (public kitchen) and hammam), date from 1501 to 1506. 131

Bayezid II Mosque Introduction The dome was partially rebuilt after an earthquake in 1509, and Mimar Sinan conducted further repairs in 1573–74. The minarets burned separately in 1683 and 1764. An inscription above the courtyard entrance suggests that repairs were also conducted in 1767 132

Bayezid II Mosque Introduction Interior of Bayezid Camii The interior of the mosque is patterned after the Hagia Sophia on a smaller scale. In addition to the huge central dome, semidomes to the east and west form a nave, whereas to the north and south extend side aisles, each with four small domes which extend the length of the mosque, but which are not divided into galleries. The dome is supported by huge rectangular piers, with smooth pendentives and stalactite decorations. The space is lit with twenty windows at the base of the dome and seven windows on each semi-dome, in addition to two tiers of windows on the walls. 133

Bayezid II Mosque Introduction On the west side, a broad extended corridor extends considerable beyond the main structure of the building. Originally designed as four domed rooms to serve as a hospice for wandering dervishes, the wings were integrated into the prayer hall sometime during the sixteenth century and now consist of three consecutive rooms separated by archways. At the ends of these wings are the two minarets. 134

Bayezid II Mosque Introduction Exterior The mosque is oriented along the northwest-southeast axis with a courtyard to the northwest with an area almost equal to that of the mosque itself. the courtyard has monumental entrance portals on each side. The courtyard is a colonnaded peristyle, with twenty ancient columns of porphyry, verd antique and granite salvaged from churches and ancient ruins, roofed with 24 small domes, and with a pavement in polychrome marble. The mosque itself is approximately 40 meters square, with a 17 meter diameter dome. The design is that of a central dome held by semi-domes on all four sides. The mosque is constructed entirely of cut stone appropriating colored stones and marbles appropriated from nearby Byzantine ruins. 135