GPS : 41°01'01.6"N 28°56'59.6"E / 41.017111, 28.949889
PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM
On Macar Kardeşler Street a rectangular planned Feyzullah Efendi Madrasa was built by Şeyhülislam Seyyid Feyzullah Efendi in 1700. Although its architect is not known, the chief architect of the period must have been Mehmet Ağa. According to the inscription in the front wall of the madrasah by Calligrapher Kami Mehmet Efendi, the fountain was built in 1700. Having built the library and the sections of the classroom in a single building is a very rare technique in Ottoman architecture.
During the extensive work on Macar Kardesler Street in 1912, it was saved from destruction thanks to Madame Bombar’s efforts, wife of French Ambassador of the period. A madrasah with 10 rooms, which is outwardly dominated by classical architecture, is surrounded by a small courtyard containing a pool. On the right side of the porch on the second floor, lie the reading rooms of the madrasah.
The cells of the medrese surround two sides of the courtyard in which stands a şadırvan in the midst of a pretty garden. The street side of the courtyard is wholly occupied by a most elaborate and original dershane building: a flight of steps leads up to a sort of porch covered by nine domes of different patterns, the arches of which are supported on four columns.
The effect of this porch has been somewhat impaired by glazing in a part of it, but its usefulness has doubtless been increased. To right and left of the porch are the large domed lecture-rooms, now used as library reading-rooms.
According to the epitaph and foundation charter, the library was built by Şeyhülislam Seyyid Feyzullah Efendi in 1112 Hijri (1700-1701). Because its structure was ruined in the early 20th century, the municipality considered completely destroying it and build a car park in its place. However, with the initiatives of the İstanbul Muhibleri Cemiyeti (Association for Lovers of Istanbul) and with the efforts of Minister of Foundations Şeyhülislam Mustafa Hayri Efendi, the building was restored and saved from destructiong (1334 Hiji / 1916).
The medrese, long disaffected and ruinous, was restored and converted into a library by Ali Emiri Efendi, a famous bibliophile who died in 1924 and left the building and his valuable collection of books and manuscripts to the people of Istanbul. The reading-rooms are almost always full of students.
İSTANBUL MİLLET LIBRARY
This library was established in the district of Fatih in the Feyzullah Efendi Medrese in 1911 by Ali Emiri Efendi. Its original collection consists of over 16,000 volumes from Ali Emiri's private colection of rare works. It presently holds 70,000 volumes, 9,000 which are manuscripts in Ottoman Turkish, Arabic and Persian.
Among the important items contained in the library, are the calligraphic panels made by Sultan Mahmud III (1808-39) which hang on the walls of the museum section, as well as early periodicals and Arabic newspapers. In 1993 the library became classified as a research library and adopted the Dewey Decimal Classification System.
Calligraphy
İstanbul has long been a center of Islamic calligraphy (hat), an art from given much importance in the Islamic world. Calligraphy is not merely an artistic form of writing but is often an expression of religious feeling through the adornment of the names of God and the verses of the Quran. Calligraphy is displayed on wall plaques, inside domes of mosques and other buildings, on minarets grave stones, and porcelain pieces.
Artists of calligraphy are referred to as hattat. Those artists, however, who were responsible for producing the calligraphic Ottoman Sultan's seal (tuğra) and the stylised calligraphic design of the Sultan's signature of official documents were called tuğrakeş.
Miniature
The roots of Ottoman miniature production can be found in the Persian traditon of book illustration during back to the Selçuk and Ilkhanid periods, which in turn was greatly influenced by Uygur and Chinese traditions. This art from differs considerably from the classical western painting tradition in that it is two-dimensional and does not take depth perspective in consideration.
During the Ottoman period, İstanbul became the most important center for the production of miniatures, which were produced not in isolation but rather as illustration accompanying historical and literary works. Miniature production was supported by the cort and continued as an important artistic activity until the influence of classical Western painting became predominnat in the eighteenth century, whereupon it lost its originality and importance as an art form. Miniatures have as much importance as historical documents as they do as works of art, and the most choice examples are displayed in museums.
According to the epitaph "kitabe" and foundation charter "vakfiye", the library was built by Şeyhülislam Seyyid Feyzullah Efendi in 1112 Hijri (1700-1701 Gregorian). Because its structure was ruined in the early 20th century, the municipality considered completely destroying it and build a car park in its place. However, with the initiatives of the İstanbul Muhibleri Cemiyeti (Association for Lovers of Istanbul) and with the efforts of Evkaf Nazırı (Minister of Foundations) Şeyhülislam Mustafa Hayri Efendi, the building was restored and saved from destructiong (1334 Hiji / 1916 Gregorian).
It became a general library and took the name of Fatih Millet Library. Along with the physical restoration of the library, Feyzullah Efendi donated 2,189 manuscripts and Ali Emiri Efendi donated 16,000 books to the library.
The books of important waqf (foundation) libraries such as Reşid Efendi, Carullah Efendi, Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa and Pertev Paşa Libraries, which had completely unusable buildings from 1924 onwards, were gathered in Millet Library along with the books of Şeyhülislam Feyzullah Efendi; but, when Millet Library was transformed to Public Library in 1962, all the books of waqf libraries were transferred to Süleymaniye Library. The library’s collection was transfered to the Simkeşhane Building in Laleli, and the Millet Library reassumed its identity and continued to serve the Fatih District of Istanbul as a public library.
Murad Molla, Adile Sultan, Yusuf Paşa, Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Public Libraries and Ebu Bekir Paşa, Yavuz Selim, Zembilli Ali Efendi Children’s Libraries had served as affiliated sub units of Millet Library, but these libraries were converted into vakıfs (non-for-profit organizations). The manuscripts from Murad Molla Public Library were transferred to Süleymaniye Library in 2000 and have been open to public use since..
The library became specialized for research by handing over the new books available in the Public Library, which serves in affiliation with Libraries and Publications General Directorate of Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, to Library and Documentation Center of Sakarya University. The library continues to serve under the name “Millet Manuscript Library.”
LOCATION SATELLITE MAP
WEB SITE : Millet Library
MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : okuyucu@milletkutup.gov.tr
Phone : +90 212 631 3607 - +90 212 631 3962
Fax : +90 212 635 7487
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