MEHMET AĞA COMPLEX

Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'36.9"N 28°56'43.9"E / 41.026917, 28.945528



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Close to Manyasizade Street, the Mehmet Ağa Mosque was built by Architect Davut Ağa in 1584-1585 for Mehmet Ağa, the chief eunuch of black eunuchs brought from Ethiopia as slaves. In addition, it is shown as one of the work of Sinan the Architect in some references. He was a high rank officer in the palace responsible from harem and the commander and the palace halberdiers.

The construction which was a Mimar Sinan monument was built according to topography as we encountered in many works of the master. The construction which has alcoves opened to a rectangular planned courtyard and alternative wall masonry still serves as cultural centre.

In the square planned mosque, which has a central dome measuring 11 m in diameter and very beautiful tiles of İznik, 16th century tiles of Kütahya and 18th century tiles of the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus can still be seen today.

A square room covered by a dome, with a projecting apse for the mihrab and an entrance porch with five bays. But unlike most mosques of this simple type, the dome does not rest directly on the walls but on arches supported by pillars and columns engaged in the wall; instead of pendentives there are four semidomes in the diagonals. The mosque is about 380 m2.

Even though the name of the architect Davut Ağa is mentioned on the inscription panel, this mosque is listed among Sinan’s architectural works in Tuhfetü’l Mimaran. Since Sinan is credited as the architect, we assume that he greatly contributed to the design of the mosque. In general, it displays well-preserved architectural characteristics of the period of Sinan.

The tile rosettes on the pendentives in the interior are interesting and highly refined. Mehmet Ağa had been brought to the Palace as a slave from Ethiopia and had risen to the level of Chief Eunuch of the Harem.

Madrasa which was the part of a small complex was built by Hacı Mehmet who was one of the Darüssade aghas of Topkapı Palace in 1580. The madrasah, having 10 rooms and one big classroom, was later converted into a home for women. This madrasah, was given to the Society for the Protection of Children from the beginning of the Turkish Republic until 1986. It later was assigned to the Authors Association of Turkey in 1989.

As understood from the inscription on his tomb that is situated in the threshold of the mosque, he is known to have died in the 1590. There ara two morc mosques in Üsküdar, a madrasa, a school, and a water fountain on the Divan Road, in front of Hoca Rüstem Mosque built for Mehmed Aga. Architect of the mosque is Davut Ağa.

lts mihrab and minbar are made of marble and the tile panels crowning the lower windows and the tiles embracing thr mihrab from both sides ara thr ornamentation apparatus which ara 16th century Kütahya or Iznik tiles and or ara the tiles belonging to 18th century Tektur palace.

Dated to 1586, the bath built by the architect of the complex, Davut Ağa, can be seen near the mosque. The Bath House, which still continues to serve the public, is next to the mosque and the tomb, and open to public. Just to the south outside the precincts stands a handsome double bath, also a benefaction of Mehmet Ağa and presumably built by Davut Ağa.

The general plan is standard: a large square camekân, the dome of which is supported on squinches in the form of conches; a cruciform hararet with cubicles in the corners of the cross, but the lower arm of the cross has been cut off and turned into a small soğukluk which leads through the right-hand cubicle into the hararet; in the cubicles are very small private washrooms separated from each other by low marble partitions – a quite unique disposition. As far as one can judge from the outside, the women’s section seems to be a duplicate of the men’s.

The square planned tomb of Mehmet Ağa in the complex is relatively plain. The Mehmet Ağa Tomb is nearby, next to the mosque. Its square plan is original, yet it has lost some of its 16th century features. The Tomb can be viewed from the outside; it is closed to visitors at this time.

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ÜSKÜDAR SELİMİYE MOSQUE

Selimiye, Üsküdar - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'35.0"N 29°00'58.9"E / 41.009722, 29.016361



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Located in Üsküdar across the Selimiye Barracks, Selimiye Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim III (reigned 1789–1807) in 1805. It is on a hill overlooking Marmara and the Golden Horn. It is a group of buildings with its lodge, barracks, Turkish bath, dervish lodge, warehouse and textile manufacturing facilities. It is located in front of a large rectangular courtyard. It has gates on north, south, east and west sides. The south gate is a marble arch. Its top is decorated by leaves. There is the imperial signature of Sultan Selim III on it.

The dome of this square cut stone mosque measures 14.6 m in diameter and it has twenty four windows. It is supported by small towers at the corners. The elevation of the dome is 25.7 m from ground level and its interior side is decorated with verses from the Quran and calligraphic script. The pulpit and mihrab are made of somaki marble and the portico is roofed with five domes supported by six marble columns.

The great dome of four walls and 24 windows is supported by one small tower on each edge. The main entrance is from the west and it has ten stairs. The cupola that covers the main area is covered by bricks and plated by lead. There are two minarets with single balcony with two storey sultan offices.

It is located in front of a large rectangular courtyard. It has gates on north, south, east and west sides. The main entrance is from the west and it has ten stairs. The cupola that covers the main area is covered by bricks and plated by lead. On the west side of the mosque two floored Sultan rooms were placed and they were erected on marble columns. On the right the Sultan’s praying room, and on the left his resting and guest rooms are located. Selimiye Mosque is famous for its decorations.

The cupola is ornamented with paintbrush and central cupola is ornamented with verses of Koran. The south gate is a marble arch. Its top is decorated by leaves. There is the imperial signature of Sultan Selim III on it. There is a wooden ribbon which is fine example of Turkish woodcraft under the preacher desk, the pulpit is marble. There are verses of the Koran on all the doors of the mosque. The number of scripts in this mosque is unparalleled.

The baroque style Selimiye Mosque opposite the Selimiye Kışlası (Barracks) in Üsküdar was built by Chief Architect Ahmet Nurettin for Sultan Selim III when the construction of the mosque was finalized, the minarets looked thicker than intended so they were chiseled down to make them thinner. There are two minarets with single balcony with two storey sultan offices. However, these slenderized minarets could not resist the winds and it collapsed in 1823 and this led to reconstruction being required. The mosque underwent an overall renovation in 1964.

The pulpit and mihrab are made of somaki marble and the portico is roofed with five domes supported by six marble columns. The interior of the mosque is rich in marble and wood engravings. The mihrab and mimbar is made of porphyry marble. The latest congregational area is sheltered by 5 domes over 6 marble columns.

On the west side of the mosque two floored Sultan rooms were placed and they were erected on marble columns. On the right the Sultan’s praying room, and on the left his resting and guest rooms are located. Selimiye Mosque is famous for its decorations. The cupola is ornamented with paintbrush and central cupola is ornamented with verses of Koran.

The exterior surface of the total four gates has verses from Quran written on them. The muvakkithane (timekeeping room), which does not bear an epitaph, can be seen in the large courtyard of the mosque.

It also treasures the graves of Zibifer Kadın, wife of Sultan Selim III and Minister of Finance Mehmed Hasip Pasha.

The south gate is a marble arch. Its top is decorated by leaves. There is a wooden ribbon which is fine example of Turkish woodcraft under the preacher desk, the pulpit is marble. There are verses of the Koran on all the doors of the mosque. The number of scripts in this mosque is unparalleled.

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ÇİNİLİ MOSQUE

Üsküdar - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'12.1"N 29°01'43.6"E / 41.020028, 29.028778



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Çinili Mosque (known as Tiled Mosque or Orta Valide Sultan Mosque) was built by Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan, the wife of Sultan Ahmed I, in 1640. The architect Kasım Ağa designed the mosque along with a medresse, school, fountain, baths with two sections, and a fountain for ablutions.

This little mosque is fairly unprepossessing from the outside, but the interior is a totally different story. The walls are brilliant with İznik tiles, the bequest of Mahpeyker Kösem (1640), wife of Sultan Ahmet I and mother of Sultan Murat IV and Sultan İbrahim. It’s a 10-minute walk to get here from the Atik Valide Mosque. That social complex built in 1050 IC/1640 AD and composed of several buildings was situated at the top of a commanding hill.

The minaret was damaged due to streak of lightning in 1964. With a 9 m dome diameter, the mosque measures 9.12 x 9.16 m in to in. Sıraltı Kütahya tiles, used in the decoration, are considered as the final examples of classical Turkish art of tile making. Although the mosque is rather unremarkable from outside, the long walk to the mosque through will be rewarded by the exquisite interior decorations made by the famous Iznik tiles.

The mosque, in a pretty garden filled with flowers and trees, is small and simple: a square room covered by a dome, but it has both on the façade and in the interior a revetment of tiles (hence its name, çinili = tiled) just after the best period, but still quite fine, chiefly pale blue and turquoise on a white ground. Just outside the precinct is a handsome mektep, and not far off a large hamam also belongs to the foundation.

The mimber of white marble has its carving very prettily picked out in gold, red and green, and its conical roof is tiled. The porch of the mosque is a baroque addition, as is the minaret, of which the şerefe has a corbel of very pretty folded-back acanthus leaves, such as we have seen nowhere else. In the precinct is a very fine şadırvan with a huge witch’s cap for a roof, and a tiny medrese triangular in shape sloping headlong down hill.

The mosque was built by Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan, the wife of Ahmed I, in 1640. The architect Kasım Ağa designed the mosque along with a medresse, school, fountain, baths with two sections, and a fountain for ablutions. The bathhouse, which has no enameled tiles or ornaments at all, took its name from the Çinili Mosque. Across from the men's section is the Kösem Sultan School for children, across from the women's section is the dervish lodge of Ümmi Ahmet Efendi. This historical bath is still operational.

The bath without any tile decoration gets its name from the mosque. The bath operated until 1908 - 1909 and was kept closed for a substantial period following the fire of 1923. It passed into a private land. The bath came into operation again after restoration between 1963 and 1964.

Built of stone rubble, L planned madrasah was built by Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan along with the mosque in 1640 and was designed by the Architect Kasım Ağa. Closed in 1925, the madrasah was restored in 1970.

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NURBANU VALİDEİ ATİK SULTAN MOSQUE COMPLEX

Üsküdar - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'07.8"N 29°01'25.0"E / 41.018833, 29.023611



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The Atik Valide Mosque (Eski Valide Camii) is an Ottoman mosque located on the hill above a large and densely populated district of Üsküdar, in Istanbul, Turkey. The Atik Valide complex was commissioned by Sultan Selim II (1524-1574) in 1570 for his wife Nurbanu Sultan, and was fully completed by his son, Sultan Murad III (1546-1595) in 1579. Mimar Sinan completed the mosque in 1583, and it was his last major work. Constructed on a site that descends towards the northwest, it consists of three building groups separated by streets and two small, free-standing structures.

Moving from northeast to southwest, the first and the smallest of the three building groups is the dervish hostel (tekke or dergah) on the northeast. The largest building group, located on the southwest, consists of a house for readers of the Koran (darül-kurra), a college of Islamic law (darül-hadis), a hospital with an insane asylum (darüssifa), and a soup kitchen for students (imaret). The imaret is subdivided into a kitchen, a hospice (tabhane) and a caravanserai.

Standing between the tekke and the imaret cluster is the mosque, together with a large fountain courtyard that surrounds it on three sides, and the madrasa, attached to the northwest side of the mosque courtyard. Of the two freestanding structures, the larger is the bathhouse, located on the west of the complex. The smaller is the Quranic school (sibyan mektebi), and it is located southeast of the mosque.

The Atik Valide Sultan bath is a part of Atik Valide Complex, combined of mosque, madrasa, darul-hadis, convent, sıbyanmektebi, public kitchen and bath. It also known as Nurbanu Valide Sultan Hamam, which takes the name from the founder.

Mosque
It has a wide shallow dome which rest on five semidomes, with a flat arch over the entrance portal. The interior is surrounded on three sides by galleries. On the southeast of this building group, the prayer hall sits on a rectangular plan aligned on the northeast-southwest axis. A central dome flanked by five semi-domes tops the central space, and four smaller domes surmount the side bays of the prayer hall.

The prayer hall is fronted by a double portico on its northwest, where it is connected to the fountain courtyard. In the courtyard, four of the thirty-eight surrounding domed bays with pendentives serve as entrances. The entrance on the northwest, which is located in the center of the courtyard wall, leads to a staircase that descends to the madrasa courtyard. Two of the entrances are located within the fifth bay of the southwestern and the northeastern courtyard walls; these entrances lead directly from the bordering streets into the courtyard.

The fourth entrance is southwest of the prayer hall, in the southeast wing of the courtyard wall. Entered through any one of the four entrances, one encounters the fountain in the center of the courtyard, on the qibla axis between the door leading to the madrasa (on the northwest) and the portico of the mosque (on the southeast). Within the double portico of the mosque, the secondary portico is carried over sixteen columns, and surrounds the five-bay primary portico on three sides.

The entrance to the prayer hall through the double portico is emphasized in three ways: articulations in both porticos separate it from the other bays, the primary portico contains a mirror vault rather than a dome, and the secondary portico is distinguished by an arch at the entrance. As one passes through this entry, one sees two mihrab niches (within the primary portico) and the two entrances to the minarets, which are symmetrically placed along the sides of the portal (on the northwest wall of the mosque).

The portal, made entirely of white marble, is highly ornamented with muqarnas carvings. A wooden inscription plate is placed above the entrance, giving the name of Nurbanu Sultan and the date of 1583, which indicates the date of its expansion, rather than its construction date. First completed in 1579 as a single domed structure with a hexagonal drum, the mosque was enlarged during a second phase of construction headed by the architect Davud. During the second phase, the primary portico was not altered, and the secondary portico was enlarged on its northeastern and southwestern ends; the minarets retained their original positions.

Entering through the portal, the main dome, approximately thirteen meters in diameter, sits on six pointed arches. These arches are supported by two freestanding piers and four buttresses that are embedded into the qibla and entrance walls. Unlike the symmetrically placed four semi-domes along the boundary of the rectangular prayer hall, the fifth semi-dome roofs the projecting qibla niche. Rather than a sixth semi-dome to balance the qibla semi-dome, a thick wall containing the entrance portal is located opposite the qibla. The four domes that roof the the (1583) extension of the side bays are each approximately six meters in diameter, and each rests on two arches and the side walls of the prayer hall.

Within the mihrab projection, the mihrab niche is placed between two windows. The narrow galleries surround the prayer hall on three sides and are carried over pointed arches on thirty columns. The prayer hall is lit by a total of a hundred and fourteen windows, eighteen of which pierce the drum of the main dome, while seventy-three open the walls of the prayer hall.

The mosque is unadorned on the exterior, yet its interior is highly ornamented. Iznik tiles featuring floral motifs and Quranic inscriptions are densely clustered around the mihrab niche. Geometrical inlay work, pencil-work, and carved woodwork are also found in the prayer hall. After the mosque was completed, it was again altered ca. 1835, during the reign of Mahmud II. A sultan's platform and a muezzin's platform were added, and the fenestration in the west wall of the prayer hall was reconfigured. The mosque was most recently restored between 1956-1972 by the General Directorate of Religious Endowments.

Tekke
Located on the northeastern edge of the complex, the tekke has a trapezoidal plan. It consists of thirty-five domed cells, fronted by a portico, surrounding a courtyard. The ceremonial hall (tevhidhane) is located in the middle of the northeastern row of cells and is projected on the elevation. The entrance into the tekke is through the cell located on the southern corner. This entrance is articulated with a shallow arch and topped by an inscription. Instead of leading directly into the courtyard, this entrance leads into the bay on its northwest, which in turn adjoins the courtyard.

The courtyard featured an octagonal fountain in its center, of which only the base now remains. Each of the thirty-five cells is entered through an individual door under the portico, which has a wooden pitched roof. On the courtyard side, each cell contains a rectangular window with a circular window above; the exterior walls are unfenestrated. The domes of the cells rest on pendentives.

The tevhidhane is the size of four of its cells, and is topped by a central dome sitting on a dodecagonal drum; the drum is visible on the exterior. Interior squinches enable the transition from the dome to the walls. The dome is flanked by four semi-domes on its corners. The tevhidhane contains fourteen windows and two niches with muqarnas carvings on the northwestern and southeastern walls.

Imaret Group
The imaret has a T-shaped courtyard surrounded by thirteen cells. Roofed by domes with pendentives, the cells have different configurations, following different functions. Each cell is entered through doors located beneath a U-shaped portico supported by fourteen columns. The main kitchen is located southwest of the imaret, and is connected to a narrow rectangular courtyard located between the imaret and the southeastern wing of the caravanserai. This courtyard was used both as a service passage and for distribution of food to the poor.

Within the large southwestern building group, the imaret is located on the southeast side of a large courtyard; the tabhane is located on the northwest side of the courtyard. Southwest of the courtyard is the caravanserai; on its northeast, the courtyard is connected to the street via an ascending staircase. The darül-hadis is located between this staircase and the darül-kurra, which stands on the eastern corner of the building group. The darüssifa, which is a rectangular building with an interior courtyard, is located on the northwest of the cluster; it is attached to the wall of the tabhane.

The main entrance to this group, which carries an inscription above, is found on the southwest side of the group. It leads to a rectangular hall centered between the two wings of the caravanserai. This hall is surmounted by a central dome and two barrel vaults on the sides. Two doors on the northwestern and southeastern walls of this rectangular hall lead to the central courtyards of the symmetrical caravanserai wings. Within these two wings, the courtyards are encircled by rectangular rooms on two stories.

A third gate on the northeast elevation of the hall leads to the tabhane courtyard, which is wrapped by a twenty-nine bay portico topped by domes with pendentives. Within the courtyard, the bay opposite the southwest entrance leads to the staircase that rises the street on the northeast side of the building group. Two barrel-vaulted rooms are found on either side of this staircase; they are located below the rooms of the darül-hadis. On the northwest and southeast sides of the courtyard, two doors connect, respectively, to the tabhane and the imaret.

The imaret has a T-shaped courtyard surrounded by thirteen cells. Roofed by domes with pendentives, the cells have different configurations, following different functions. Each cell is entered through doors located beneath a U-shaped portico supported by fourteen columns. The main kitchen is located southwest of the imaret, and is connected to a narrow rectangular courtyard located between the imaret and the southeastern wing of the caravanserai. This courtyard was used both as a service passage and for distribution of food to the poor.

Darüşşifa
The darüşşifa is a rectangular structure with a central courtyard; its primary entrance is on its northwest. This entrance leads to a rectangular space roofed by domes and aligned on the northeast-southwest axis. The courtyard is encircled by a portico carried over thirty columns. The rooms of the darüşşifa are not identical; they include rectangular rooms with barrel vaults and square planned ones with domes. Some of the rooms of the darüssifa are connected to the hospice on its southeast; these were are used as the hospice baths.

This building group has undergone many changes in program, beginning in the eighteenth century, when it was converted into a prison. The consequent revisions and modifications in the structures have changed their original built characteristics.

The darüşşifa (hospital) building was used for storing tobacco in 1935; then converted into a school called Üsküdar İmam Hatip Lisesi (Religious High School) but the imaret was neglected. The cedar tree within the complex is considered the oldest cedar tree in the whole Middle East. The darüşşifa is a rectangular structure with a central courtyard; its primary entrance is on its northwest. This entrance leads to a rectangular space roofed by domes and aligned on the northeast-southwest axis.

The courtyard is encircled by a portico carried over thirty columns. The rooms of the darüssifa are not identical; they include rectangular rooms with barrel vaults and square planned ones with domes. Some of the rooms of the darüssifa are connected to the hospice on its southeast; these were are used as the hospice baths.

Hospice
The tabhane opposite the imaret is designed in a similar fashion, including the presence of a rectangular courtyard between it and the northwestern wing of the madrasa. The only difference lies in the shapes of their respective courtyards; the hospice courtyard is rectangular, rather than T-shaped.

Madrasa
The madrasah of the complex consists of eighteen rooms and it remained in operation until 1918. While fifteen of the rooms were dedicated to be used by the students, two of them were used by teaching assistants and the latter was reserved for the custodian. The madrasah was renovated between 1960 and 1963. It was a shelter for the homeless for a period of time.

The madrasa, which is attached to the northwest of the mosque courtyard, has a trapezoidal plan that narrows from southwest to northeast. Composed of eighteen cells and a classroom, the madrasa is fronted by a nineteen-bay portico that encircles its courtyard on three sides. Its fenestrated southeastern wall forms the border of and contains an entrance into the mosque fountain courtyard.

The main entrance from the street is located at the south corner of the madrasa. The classroom of the madrasa, located in the middle of the northwestern wall, can be accessed from either entrance. This classroom, which is as large as four of its student cells, is shifted off axis towards the northwest, allowing space for a secondary, three-bay portico in front of the classroom.

Articulation on the main portico highlights the presence of the classroom; in addition, the secondary portico contains a central domed bay flanked by two mirror-vaulted, rectangular bays. One enters through the double portico to view the classroom, which is topped by a dome on an octagonal drum. The classroom has two rows of windows on three sides; its northwestern elevation is left blind for privacy, as the classroom projects northwest, extending over a street. The street is located below the floor level of the madrasa, and this projection is supported by a vault as it passes over the street.

In the madrasa, the student cells, all furnished with stoves, are roofed by domes with pendentives. They are accessed via the doors beneath the portico. Each madrasa cell has one window on the courtyard side and two on the elevation. Inside the portico of the madrasa, all of the nineteen bays are domed, with the exception of the vaulted bays in front of the classroom and the bay at the northeastern end of the portico. An octagonal fountain, whose roof has since vanished, stands in the madrasa courtyard before the entrance to the classroom.

They are accessed via the doors beneath the portico. Each madrasa cell has one window on the courtyard side and two on the elevation. Inside the portico of the madrasa, all of the nineteen bays are domed, with the exception of the vaulted bays in front of the classroom and the bay at the northeastern end of the portico. An octagonal fountain, whose roof has since vanished, stands in the madrasa courtyard before the entrance to the classroom.

Baths
The hamam is built on Eski Topbaşı Road, which also gives another name to the bath, in Üsküdar. Located to the west of the complex, the baths are composed of a symmetrical arrangement of rectangular units along the northeast-southwest axis. Entered from the northeast, the dressing space is connected to the cold rooms. These are roofed in the center by domes with pendentives and on the sides by mirror vaults. The hot rooms, located further to the southwest, are roofed by domes.

The water storage unit is a rectangular, barrel-vaulted structure attached to the southwest side of the hot rooms. Following a period of use as a wood workshop, the bathes were renovated by the General Directorate of Religious Endowments. Today, the dressing spaces house shops.

The bath was built for providing income to the complex; however in many other examples in baths, the bath was sold to a private owner; is not belonging to the Waqf anymore. It is a part of a complex but physically it is independent from the complex. There is no inscription but according to some sources it was built simultaneous with the complex in 1577-79, but according to another sources, it was built in 1583.

The Atik Valide Sultan Bath was known to be in ruins until 1985 and was restored in this year. The hamam is a small one among other Sinan baths. The authenticity is lost by many interventions. Basically, using the place as a carpenter atelier damaged the space. Later interventions, for covering the damaged walls are improper.

Today the bath is a colorful one with lack of original details. The dressing rooms are painted and covered with improper colors and imitative coverings. This causes the loss of bath comprehension. In women part, the original roof in the dressing part is lost and is capped by a reinforced concrete roofing.

Quranic school
The Quranic school is a cubical structure surmounted by a dome with pendentives. Entered through the portal on the north, which was once fronted with a portico, it features windows on all but the north elevation. Converted to a library in the eighteenth century, it was later abandoned. This building group has undergone many changes in program, beginning in the eighteenth century, when it was converted into a prison. The consequent revisions and modifications in the structures have changed their original built characteristics.

Mental Hospital
The first mental hospital in the Ottoman Empire was founded in this complex in the 16th century. From 1865, the kitchen, and the hospital were used as mental hospital until Bakırköy Mental Hospital came into service in 1927. The first doctor of this hospital, which was listed as Toptaşı Bimarhanesi (lunatic asylum), was an Italian Physician named Mongeri.

The hospital building was reserved women patients and the Hadith School was for male patients. While it was being used as a mental hospital, a gramophone was purchased as the listening to music was used in the treatment of patients. After Bakırköy Mental Hospital came into service, patients with leprosy were transferred to the hospital.

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MİHRİMAH SULTAN EDİRNEKAPI COMPLEX

Edirnekapı - Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'45.6"N 28°56'08.4"E / 41.029333, 28.935667



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The Mihrimah Sultan mosque is located on Fevzi Paşa Street at Edirnekapı neighborhood in Fatih.. The mosque was built between 1562-1565 by the architect Sinan by the order of Mihrimah Sultan, daughter of Süleyman the Magnificent. Its construction was continued from 1562 to1565 and it had a a large amount of damage during an earthquake in 1719. The complex is composed of a large mosque, madrasah (theological school attached to a mosque), Ottoman elementary-primary school (Sıbyan Mektebi), tomb, bath and bazaar.

The complex is located on Fevzi Paşa Street at the entrance to Edirnekapı by the city walls. It is built by Sultan Süleyman, the Magnificent for his daughter Mihrimah and designed by Architect Sinan. Altough the exact date is unknown, it is thought that construction of the complex was completed in the 1560's. It was composed of a mosque, medresse, double hamam, shrine, market and primary school, many of which no longer remain today.

Built near the walls of the old city entrance and standing on one of the highest hills of Istanbul, this mosque in Edirnekapı is the second mosque in Istanbul built for Mihrimah Sultan. Commissioned by her father, Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566), it was designed and built by Architect Sinan and completed between 1562-1565.

The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is an Ottoman mosque located in the Edirnekapı neighborhood near the Byzantine land walls of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the peak of the Sixth Hill near the highest point of the city, the mosque is a prominent landmark in Istanbul.

The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque was designed by Mimar Sinan "Sinan the Architect" for the favorite daughter of Süleyman the Magnificent, Princess Mihrimah. Its building took place from 1562 to 1565. The complex has been severely damaged by earthquakes several times (including 1719, 1766, 1814 and 1894), and although efforts were made to restore the mosque, its attendant buildings received less attention. The dome was further damaged during 1999 İzmit earthquake, and required restoration, along with the upper half of the minaret.

The mosque was built on a terrace overlooking the main street. A large courtyard (avlu) whose interior portico is divided into individual cells forming a madrasah surrounds the mosque. In the center of the courtyard is a large ablution fountain (şadırvan). Entry to the mosque is through an imposing porch of seven domed bays with marble and granite columns. The mosque itself is a cube topped by a half-sphere, with symmetrical multi-windowed tympana on each of the four sides. The dome is supported by four towers, one in each corner; its base is pierced by windows. The single minaret is tall and slender; during the 1894 earthquake it crashed through the roof of the mosque.

The interior is a cube under a dome 20 m in diameter and 37 m high. On the north and south sides, triple arcades supported by granite columns open onto side aisles with galleries above, each with three domed bays. A vast amount of surface area is covered by windows, making the mosque one of the brightest lit of any of Sinan's works. Some of the windows contain stained glass. The interior stencil decorations are all modern. However, the mimbar in carved white marble is from the original construction.

The diameter of the dome of the mosque is 20 meters, and the height is 37 meters. It has an area of approximately 1000 square meters in the middle of the mosque. It has a rectangular-shaped marble pulpit (minber), and the stained glass of the windows strengthen the aesthetic appeal of the mosque. It has only one minaret with a single sherefe (minaret balcony), and that falls outside of the profile of the Sultan Mosques which were built by the architect Sinan.

It differs from other mosques of the period in that it has a single minaret. Another distinction is the large number of windows: 101 in all. The marble pulpit is one of the finest of the period. The shutters of the window and door are made of wood inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl.

Just behind the portico, the dominating single dome of the mosque rises thirty-five meters above the ground. Spanning 20 meters, the dome is carried over an almost skeletal system composed of four "elephant feet" (massive piers) and the arches between them. These polygonal piers, mostly projected on the façade for creation of a more spacious interior, rise to the level of the drum and increase the total mass available to support the load of the dome.

An innovative design, this addition of these structural piers allows for a shift from purely load-bearing to thinner, heavily fenestrated walls. Thus, all four tympana feature three rows of windows with seven arched windows at the bottom, five arched and two circular windows in the middle, and three arched and two circular windows at the top. The dome itself also features twenty-four windows, greatly increasing the quantity of natural light within the interior; the total number of windows in the prayer hall is close to two hundred.

Along the east-west axis, the mosque has side bays, each of which are topped by three domes. Measuring six meters in diameter, these domes sit on columns with carved stalactite capitals. The height of these side bays is almost half that of the central space, and they include three rows of windows, the same number found in the large tympana of the main dome. The mosque has a slim minaret with a single balcony constructed of stone that corresponds to the western bay of the portico.

The luminous interior of the mosque features a marble mihrab with muqarnas carvings; the minbar, also of marble, stands to the west of the mihrab niche. Chasings, restored in the last renovations, and stained-glass windows add to the interior ornamentation.

The single domed mosque, which is the only monumental and grandiose structure in the complex, has been severely damaged by a series of earthquakes in 1719, 1814, and 1894. According to records, these quakes caused a crack in the dome; the minaret and the portico collapsed. Judging by its architectural style, the portico was probably rebuilt in the 19th century. In 1719, the upper part of the minaret collapsed during an earthquake and was rebuilt. After discovering the extnet of the destruction of the domes in this earthquake, it is doubtful that central dome with many windows was rebuilt in a way of consistent with its original character.

The mosque was partially damaged in several earthquakes, including in 1648, 1690, 1714 (when its domes were destroyed), and in 1894, after which it was temporarily closed. The Mihrimah Sultan mosque was most recently restored in 1956 and 1957. The dome of the mosque, which was further damaged recently during 1999 Marmara earthquake, and restorated. The minaret is rebuilted from halfway up.

As built, the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque had a külliye (complex) which included (besides madrasah) a double hamman, tomb and a low row of shops under the terrace upon which the mosque was built, whose rents were intended to financially support the mosque complex. The complex does not include the grave of Mihrimah Sultan herself (which is located at the Süleymaniye Mosque, but a ruined türbe which is also a work of Sinan) behind the mosque houses the graves of her son-in-law, Grand Vizier Semiz Ali Pasha, as well as many other members of her family.

The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is part of a complex, situated on a platform above its site, which includes a madrasa, a mausoleum, baths, and stores. The site is accessed via stairs leading to the courtyard through the portico. Its courtyard measures about fifty-seven by twenty-one and a half meters, and is surrounded on three sides by a portico that is one bay deep. Each bay has its own dome, for a total of thirty-six.

A medresse is located in two corners of the inner courtyard. Interestingly though, there is no schoolroom section. It is not known whether there were no schools originally or if they were removed during renovation of repairs. Apart from this, the medresse has survived intact. A building with covered by three domes in the complex is called the Ottoman elementary-primary school (Sıbyan Mektebi). The building just next to it is the tomb of Güzel Ahmet Paşa. The primary school and tomb of Güzel Ahmed Paşa are found in the right hand corner of the mosque's kıblah, a structure indicating the direction of Mecca.

A double hamam is found in the same area, but is separate from the complex. The twin bath house of the complex has lost most of its original features except its plan and its exterior walls. There are twin baths (çifte hamam) that were active until the first quarter of the 1900s.

In the courtyard of the complex there is a marble fountain. A marble fountain, whose roof is carried over sixteen double columns, is placed in the center of the courtyard.

The inner courtyard consists of 19 rooms and 2 eyvans, a vaulted room with one side open to a courtyard. The south end of the courtyard is framed by the portico of the mosque. Surmounted by seven domes, each 6 meters in diameter, the portico of the mosque contains larger bays than the enclosure portico. These 7 domes are carried by 8 columns on the north, and rest on octagonal drums.

Eleven student cells are found behind the eastern portico and nine are located behind the western portico; however, because of the site constraints, no student accommodation was built behind the northern portico. In this configuration, the madrasa functions as an enclosure, and classroom activities are shifted to the mosque.

In the complex there was a madrasah and bazaar that do not exist today. Some of the 63 shops in the bazaar are located near the northern wall of the courtyard.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



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TOPKAPI PALACE MUSEUM / DİVAN MEYDANI

Sultanahmet, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'40.9"N 28°58'59.4"E / 41.011362, 28.983156

Second Courtyard



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Second Courtyard, with the kitchens to the right. Sultan Selim III holding an audience in front of the Gate of Felicity in the Second Courtyard. Courtiers are assembled in a strict protocol upon passing the Middle Gate, the visitor enters the Second Courtyard (II. Avlu), or Divan Square (Divan Meydanı), which was a park full of peacocks and gazelles, used as a gathering place for courtiers. This courtyard is considered the outer one (Birûn). Only the Sultan was allowed to ride on the black pebbled walks that lead to the Third Courtyard.

The courtyard was completed probably around 1465 during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II, but received its final appearance around 1525-1529 during the reign of Sultan Süleyman I. This courtyard is surrounded by the former palace hospital, bakery, Janissary quarters, stables, the imperial harem and Divan to the north and the kitchens to the south. At the end of the courtyard, the Gate of Felicity marks the entrance to the Third Courtyard. The whole area is unified by a continuous marble colonnade, creating an ensemble.

Numerous artifacts from the Roman and Byzantine periods have been found on the palace site during recent excavations. These include sarcophagi, baptismal fonts, parapet slabs and pillars and capitals. They are on display in the Second Courtyard in front of the imperial kitchens. Located underneath the Second Courtyard is a cistern that dates to Byzantine times. It is normally closed to the public.

Upon passing the Middle Gate, the visitor enters the Second Courtyard (II. Avlu), or Divan Square (Divan Meydanı), which was a park full of peacocks and gazelles, used as a gathering place for courtiers. This courtyard is considered the outer one (Birûn). Only the Sultan was allowed to ride on the black pebbled walks that lead to the Third Courtyard. A strict protocol that governed the functioning and workings of the Second Courtyard was to ensure discipline and respect, as well as lend an air of majesty to the court.

The Second Courtyard was primarily used by the sultan to dispense justice and hold audiences. This was done here also to impress visitors. Various Austrian, Venetian and French ambassadors have left accounts of what such an audience looked like. The French ambassador Philippe du Fresne-Canaye led an embassy in 1573 to the sultan:

At the right hand was seated the Agha of Janissaries, very near the gate, and next to him some of the highest grandees of the court. The Ambassador saluted them with his head and they got up from their seats and bowed to him. And at a given moment all the Janissaries and other soldiers who had been standing upright and without weapons along the wall of that court did the same, in such a way that seeing so many turbans incline together was like observing a fast field of ripe corn moving gently.

We looked with great pleasure and even greater admiration at this frightful number of Janissaries and other soldiers standing all along the walls of this court, with hands joined in front in the manner of monks, in such silence that it seemed we were not looking at men but statues. And they remained immobile in that way more than seven hours, without talking or moving. Certainly it is most impossible to comprehend this discipline and this obedience when one has not seen it.

IMPERIAL STABLES

GPS : 41°00'43.5"N 28°58'56.6"E / 41.012083, 28.982389

PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Imperial Stables are located on the Golden Horn Side of the second yard, between Imperial Treasury and Imperial Council Hall. Imperial Stables of the Topkapi Palace housed the horses that only Sultan and high ranked people of Enderun rode. A vast collection of harnesses is kept in the Imperial Stables.

The structure used for the horses of the Sultan and of the Enderûn aghas (ağalar) is dated to the first period of the palace. The stable sheltering a certain number of selected horses belonging to the Sultan was under the responsibility of the stableman (imrahor).

The space covered with a single dome and the connecting rooms located at the north end of the rectangular-shaped structure served as storage hall for the valuable harnesses and saddles of the Sultan, the “Imperial Harness Treasury” (Raht-ı Hümâyûn Hazinesi). The ornamented ceiling of the domed space was transposed here from the Köçeoğlu Mansion during the 1940 refurbishing. This section housed as well the apartments of the Stables’ Custodian (Ahır Emini), also called the Chief Stableman (Baş imrahor) and other attendants.

From the inscription on its gate, we understand that the building was completely restored in 1736 and the old mosque and baths in the courtyard were re-constructed by Chief Eunuch Beshir Agha (Dârü’s-saâde Ağası Beşir Ağa). The basins in the courtyard date from the periods of Fatih Sultan Mehmet (1451-81) and Sultan Murat III (1574-95). The Imperial Stables connect with the First Courtyard / Ceremony Square through the passage way called the Stable Gate or Gate of Meyyit  (Funeral Gate).

Located on the other side of the courtyard, around five to six meters below ground level, are the imperial stables (Istabl-ı Âmire). The stables include the privy stables (Has Ahır) and were constructed during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II and renovated during the reign of Sultan Süleyman I. A vast collection of harness treasures (Raht Hazinesi) is kept in the privy stables. Also located there is the small 18th-century mosque and bath of Beşir Ağa (Beşir Ağa Camii ve Hamamı), the chief black eunuch of Sultan Mahmud I.

WARD OF THE BRAIDED GUARDS / ZÜLÜFLÜ AĞALAR

GPS : 41°00'44.6"N 28°58'59.0"E / 41.012389, 28.983056

PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

The Ward of the Zülüflu Guards was formed in the 15th Century for the purpose of introduction into military service.  The corps conducted such duties as cleaning the palace Harem and Selamlık, conducting rapid and confidential communications of the sultan, carrying and re-assembling the throne for the accession and religious holiday ceremonies, moving heavy objects and carrying the funeral bier of the sultan and his family members.

The word “zülüflü” (“braided”) stems from the braids hanging down on either side of their conical headgear. Their turned up collars and braids hindered them from observing the surroundings in the Harem while conducting their duties such as carrying in firewood. The Zülüflu Guards Chamberlain was their commander. According to the duties assigned they bore such titles as Chief of the Guard, Keeper of the Council Chamber, Supplier of the Pantry, Captain of the Guards, Officer of Chambers, Producer of Dried Fruits and Nuts, Water Pipeline Builder, and Runner.

The dormitories are constructed around a main courtyard in the traditional layout of an Ottoman house, with baths and a mosque, as well as recreational rooms such as a pipe-room. On the outside and inside of the complex, many pious foundation inscriptions about the various duties and upkeep of the quarters can be found. In contrast to the rest of the palace, the quarters are constructed by wood, which is painted in red and green.

At the end of the imperial stables are the Dormitories of the Halberdiers with Tresses (Zülüflü Baltacılar Koğuşu). These quarters were used by a corps that was responsible for carrying wood to the palace rooms, cleaning and serving service for the harem and the quarters of the male pages, moving furniture and acting as masters of ceremonies.

The halberdiers wore long tresses to signify their higher position. The first mention of this corps is around 1527, when they were established to clear the roads ahead of the army during a campaign. The dormitory was founded in the 15th century. It was enlarged by the chief architect Davud Ağa in 1587, during the reign of Sultan Murad III.

The baltacı or baltadji corps was a class of palace guards in the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the early 19th centuries. Since the Topkapı Palace was the principal imperial residence, the men of its baltadji company held special status: while the men of the other companies were enrolled, after a period of service, in the Janissary infantry regiments, the men of the Topkapı Palace had the privilege of being enrolled in the sipahi and silahdar cavalry regiments.

The Topkapı baltadjis were commanded by a kahya or kethüda, who was under the authority of the Sultan's principal page, the Silahdar Agha. The company was also responsible for supplying firewood to the Imperial Harem. In order to avoid inadvertently seeing the harem's ladies, the baltacıs were outfitted with special blinkers of cloth or lace and jackets with very high collars, whence they were commonly known as the "blinkered axemen" (zülüflü baltacılar).

In addition, twelve subalterns (kalfas) of the Topkapı Palace company, chosen for their literacy, fulfilled ceremonial duties: they brought the Sultan's throne during his enthronement ceremony and on other festivals, they guarded the sacred standard of the Prophet on campaign while reciting verses from the Quran, guarding the belongings of the harem ladies when the court moved out of the Topkapı during the summer, and, after the 17th century, with presenting the preachers at the Sultan Ahmed Mosque with sharbat, rosewater and incense on the Prophet's Birthday.

Further baltadjis of the Topkapı company were also attached to the chief palace officers, while two kalfas of the company served as the head cook and deputy head cook of the imperial kitchen.

TOWER OF JUSTICE

GPS : 41°00'44.7"N 28°59'00.1"E / 41.012402, 28.983365

PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

The Tower of Justice (Adalet Kulesi) is located between the Imperial Council and the Harem. The tower is several stories high and the tallest structure in the palace, making it clearly visible from the Bosphorus as a landmark. The tower symbolizes the eternal vigilance of the sultan against injustice. Everyone from afar was supposed to be able to see the tower to feel assured about the sultan's presence.

The tower was originally constructed under Sultan Mehmet II (the Conqueror) (1444-46/1451-81) as a tower kiosk and then renovated and enlarged by Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent between 1527 and 1529. The tower had on its top a wooden pinnacle covered with a conical roof. Sultan Mahmut II elevated the tower further by reconstructing its lantern in 1825 (1820).

Eventually, a belvedere in Empire style was added onto the tower during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-76). The stairs of the five-storey tower date from the 19th century. The tower was built as an example of traditional palace towers enabling the sovereign to view the city and the palace, and in particular, to follow the Council meetings from his grilled window. The golden window in the Imperial Council is accessible through the Tower of Justice, thus adding to the importance of the symbolism of justice.

The tower was also used by the sultan for viewing pleasures. The old tower used to have grilled windows, enabling him to see without being seen, adding to the aura of seclusion. The tall windows with engaged columns and the Renaissance pediments evoke the Palladian style.

BEŞİR AĞA MOSQUE AND BATHS

GPS : 41°00'42.1"N 28°58'56.6"E / 41.011694, 28.982389

PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

The mosque and baths were built in 1736 by Hadji Beshir Agha (Hacı Beşir Ağa), the Chief Eunuch of the Palace (Dârü’s-saâde Ağası) during the time Sultan Mahmut I, for the use of the Imperial Stables officials. The structure is elevated off the ground (fevkani) and constructed in neo- classical style.

The walls of the mosque are covered with stone-brick masonry imitation plasters in accordance with the fashion of the 18th century.  It has a single minaret. All wooden parts and the loge were renovated whereas the early baroque style stained glass windows and the marble altar are original. The baths (hamam) which connect to the southern wing of the mosque are double-domed.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Topkapı Palace Museum Directorate

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : topkapisarayimuzesi@kultur.gov.tr
Phone : +90 212 512 0480
Fax : +90 212 526 9840

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.

ATİK VALİDE SULTAN HAMAM since 1583

Üsküdar - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'04.8"N 29°01'18.2"E / 41.018000, 29.021722



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

The Atik Valide Sultan Bath House is right next to the Üsküdar Municipal Building on Üsküdar Square, Hakimiyet-i Milliye Avenue, which runs perpendicular to the seaside.  It also known as Nurbanu Valide Sultan Hamam, which takes the name from the founder. The hamam is built on Eski Topbaşı Road, which also gives another name to the bath, in Üsküdar.

The bath was built for providing income to the complex; however in many other examples in baths, the bath was sold to a private owner; is not belonging to the Waqf anymore. It is a part of a complex but physically it is independent from the complex.

For a long time it was used as a carpenter atelier, but then it was transformed into a bath again. There is no inscription but according to some sources it was built simultaneous with the complex in 1577-79, but according to M. Nermi Haskan's book on baths, it was built in 1583.

The Atik Valide Sultan Bath was known to be in ruins until 1985 and was restored in this year. For a long time it was used as a carpenter atelier, but then it was transformed into a bath again.The hamam is a small one among other Sinan baths. The authenticity is lost by many interventions. Basically, using the place as a carpenter atelier damaged the space. Later interventions, for covering the damaged walls are improper.

Today the bath is a colorful one with lack of original details. The dressing rooms are painted and covered with improper colors and imitative coverings. This causes the loss of bath comprehension. In women part, the original roof in the dressing part is lost and is capped by a reinforced concrete roofing.

This double bath, built for Nurbanu Validei Atik Sultan, was open for public use until 1917. Following its transfer to private ownership, it was restored and reopened as a shopping centre known as Mimar Sinan Çarsısı.

The western façade of the building was shaved off when the street was widened and during this process, the eastern section of the hamam was also torn down and a reinforced concrete structure added added to this part. The bath house is now open to visitors every day of the week except Sundays.

Located to the west of the complex, the baths are composed of a symmetrical arrangement of rectangular units along the northeast-southwest axis. Entered from the northeast, the dressing space is connected to the cold rooms. These are roofed in the center by domes with pendentives and on the sides by mirror vaults.

The hot rooms, located further to the southwest, are roofed by domes. The water storage unit is a rectangular, barrel-vaulted structure attached to the southwest side of the hot rooms. Following a period of use as a wood workshop, the bathes were renovated by the General Directorate of Religious Endowments. Today, the dressing spaces house shops.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Valide Atik Hamamı

MORE INFO & CONTACT
Phone : +90 216 334 9158

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VEZNECİLER HAMAMI since 1481

Vezneciler, Fatih - İstanbul Turkey

GPS : 41°00'41.0"N 28°57'40.5"E / 41.011389, 28.961250



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Historical Vezneciler Turkish Bath is located in the district of Fatih, on Bozdogan Kemeri Road. Ottoman Ruler Sultan Beyazid II had it built in the year 1481.

Being the first and only Bath built in the second floor, Vezneciler Turkish Bath is unique both in the world and Türkiye. The curative water that heals the illness of jaundice is one another feature of this bath.

This bath which hosted many important statesmen and pashas was renovated in 1950 by rebuilding the section of changing rooms out of reinforced concrete.

Although Evliya Celebi mentioned Vezneciler Bath being a "double bath" (seperate entrances for both sexes), this feature of the bath cannot be seen today. Vezneciler Turkish Bath is still in service today is a private property.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Historical Vezneciler Hamamı

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-mail : info@veznecilehamami.com
Phone : +90 212 526 7458

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.

AYASOFYA HÜRREM SULTAN HAMAMI since 1557

Ayasofya, Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'25.2"N 28°58'44.2"E / 41.007000, 28.978944



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Turkish bath between Hagia Sophia Museum and Blue Mosque in Istanbul was built by Mimar Sinan by order of Hürrem Sultan, wife of Süleyman the Magnificent, near Hagia Sophia in 16. century (1556 - 1557), at the location of historical Zeuksippos Baths that was destroyed in 532 year completely.

Hamam was repaired between 1957 - 1958 years and used as publicly owned carpet sales store until 2008.

Building is in shape of classical period Ottoman baths and is a kind of double bath with 75 m length. Women and men sections were built on the same axis in this bath for the first time, which was a new thing in Turkish Bath architecture.

Hagia Sophia Hürrem Sultan Bath which was commissioned in 2008 with build-operate-transfer model was restored according to original features by a huge investment. Hagia Sophia Hürrem Sultan Bath that preserved its unique structure for 450 years opened a new era in Turkish Bath architecture and has the title of being the first structure where women and men sections are on the same axis. Suüeyman the Magnificent had Mimar Sinan build the Turkish Bath in 1556 year.

Bath is showing differences from classical period Ottoman bath architecture with its double bath shape and 75 m. length. In Turkish bath where men coldness, warmness, hotness sections and women hotness, warmness and coldness sections follow each other; all domes are covered with lead. Restoration project of Hagia Sophia Hürrem Sultan Bath was carried out by Kocaeli University Faculty of Architecture, which is expert in historical building restoration.

No element of original bath architecture was sacrificed during the restoration process carried out with efforts of interdisciplinary teams consisting of academicians and professionals of their own fields, that lasted for months. Materials and technological systems that were used for the first time in Turkey were utilized for the works.

Bath Sections
Hagia Sophia Hürrem Sultan Bath, which is located between Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia Museum in the historical peninsula, the pearl of the world; spreads to an area of three decares with its bath, restaurant and cafe sections.

Opening - Closing Hours:
Summer Season : 07:00 - 00:00, Winter Season : 08:00 - 22:00

Coldness
In the coldness section there are VIP rooms, private rooms, 48 lockers, coiffeur, reception desk, massage rooms, resting area at terrace, vitamin bar and a boutique where products specially produced for Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bath are sold. In this place also known as undressing area, people can enjoy cheerful conversations or spend peaceful time under dome of 26 meters.

Warmness
It is the area where bath-glove services are offered after sweating in hotness section. In the same section there are toilets made of original Ottoman Stones and Stoke Hole section.

Hotness
This area is ideal for sweating and consists of navel stone, iwans and private rooms.  Temperature of private rooms that can be regarded as the steam rooms of today reach up to 50 degrees. For those guests who want to feel like the Magnificent or Hurrem, there is also bubble massage services in hotness section where sultan iwans are located.

Turkish bath tradition, representative of cleanness, healing, entertainment and social sharing for thousand years, has been reinterpreted at Hagia Sophia Hürrem Sultan Bath according to today’s understanding. This historical bath, which served sultans, is offering purifying power of water in a unique atmosphere covering both past and today for its visitors.

SERVICES
Prepare to be Born Again with Special Packages Worthy of Sultans.

Pir-i Pak (Full Cleaning Package) : Turkish Bath, traditional bath-glove application, relaxing bubble massage, head and neck massage, Ottoman sorbe

Zevk-i Sefa (Extravagant Pleasures)  : Bath, cleansing peeling application with redbud essence and humidifying body clay mask, aromatherapy massage in Sovereign or Sultan room with redbud essence oil, Ottoman sorbe.

Keyf-i Hamam (Pleasures of the Hamam) : Bath, traditional bath-glove and bubble application, aromatherapy massage in Sovereign or Sultan room with redbud essence oil, Ottoman sorbe.

Ab-ı Hayat (Elixir of life) : Bath, traditional bath-glove and bubble application in Sultan iwan, humidifying body clay mask with redbud essence, relaxing head and neck massage, fruits in palace bowl in sultan iwan. Aromatherapy massage in Sovereign or Sultan room with redbud essence oil. Turkish Delight, apricot, walnut, sorbe and tea.

Haseki Restoran & Cafe
Concept : Turkish Cuisine
Open Between : 08:00-22:00
Capacity : 450 People

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamamı

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : info@ayasofyahamami.com
Phone : +90 212 517 3535
Fax : +90 212 517 3536

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.

GEDİKPAŞA HAMAMI since 1475

Gedikpaşa, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'26.0"N 28°58'02.0"E / 41.007222, 28.967222



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Gedik Ahmetpaşa Hamamı most famous of Ottoman Empire built "Gedikpaşa Turkish Bath" in 1475. This Turkish Bath is a double bath which consists of men's and women's parts. Gedikpaşa Turkish Bath is one of the most important Ottoman architectural historical buildings in Istanbul. It s in the centre and 250 m away from Grand Bazaar.

Gedik Paşa Turkish Bath is open everyday from 06:00 ta 24:00 hours for male and female customers at the same time, in different sections. After paying the price ta the cashier section at the entrance, customers go to the changing cabins at the square section. After taking off clothes and locking the content in the cabin customers their peştemal (a kind of long towel used in Turkish Bath) and go to hot (Washing Section) of the Turkish Bath.

There is centre Stone (Göbek Taşı marbel platform) in the middle of this section and basins of the bath for washing surrounding the centre Stone and sauna at the opposite side of the centre Stone (Göbek Taşı) for a pealthy sweating.

Ceiling of the bath is covered with several small and big domes which were made in Horosan. Turkish Bath has a unique pool for people who want to take a dip. After sweating in the sauna, our masseur comes and gives you a message with you a message with coarsa bath glove for washing the body, on the centre Stone of the bath.

After the message, you can wash yourself and take the advantage o a dip pool. After cleaning, one of the employee comes and dries your body with towels. After that, you can have good time by drinking tea or other drinks.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Gedikpaşa Hamamı

MORE INFO & CONTACT
Phone : +90 212 517 8956 / +90 212 518 6033

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.

SÜLEYMANİYE HAMAMI since 1550

Süleymaniye, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'57.2"N 28°57'56.4"E / 41.015889, 28.965667



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Süleymaniye Hamam is a historic Turkish bath in Istanbul, Turkey. The building, situated on a hill facing the Golden Horn, was built in 1550 by the famed Turkish architect Sinan and named for Süleyman the Magnificent. It is part of the Süleymaniye mosque complex. Sülemaniye Hamam is a traditional bathhouse consisting of three sections: cold, lukewarm and hot. The hamam is still operating today and caters mainly to tourists

HAMAM CULTURE

Süleymaniye Turkish Bath consists of three sections. These are as follows in sequence from the entry :

1- Cold section: This is a place where you can change your clothes with your bath towel and also you can drink something, if you wish.

2- Lukewarm section: This section is a place where you can adapt your body to temperature while passing to the hot section in a balanced manner and also you can drink something, if you wish.

3- Hot section: The temperature of this section is approximately 40° - 60° C (72° - 108° F) . If you have any problem with your health, please do not venture yourself. Please inform us about your health conditions. This section is the place where the guests sweep and relax and also where rubbing the body with bath glove, massage and bath takes place.

Since the bath culture may vary from country to country, please change your clothes with bath-towel provided by us in clothes changing cabinets shown by personnel on duty. Please lock the door of your cabinet and the key with you during bath for safety purpose. Our Turkish bath will not be responsible for the losses from unlocked cabinets.

Personnel on duty provides you with clog for usung on wet grounds after you locked the door of the cabinet and took  the key with you. Our guests who have never experienced clog before should be careful. Personnel on duty shows you toilets, lukewarm section after you locked the door of the cabinet and put the clog on and bring you to the hot section of the Turkish Bath.

Our guests sweep and relax in hot section (on central massage platform) for a period varying from 30 minutes to 55 minutes according to their health condition. After your relaxing, the Hamam attendant (masseur) will come and rub your body with bath-glove first and than make massage with soap and bath you in a separate place (halvet section).

After rubbing, massage and bath is completed, you can change your wet bath towel with the dry one in changing room or you may obtain assistance from the personnel on duty. After that, your bath process in Turkish Bath is completed. If you wish, you may continue to relax in lukewarm or cold section again.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Süleymaniye Hamamı

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : info@suleymaniyehamami.com.tr
Phone : +90 212 519 5569 / +90 212 520 3410
Fax : +90 212 519 5570

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.

ÇEMBERLİTAŞ HAMAMI since 1584

Çemberlitaş, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'30.8"N 28°58'18.0"E / 41.008556, 28.971667



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

The Çemberlitaş Bath (Çemberlitaş Hamamı) is located on Çemberlitaş Square on Divanyolu Street situated in the midst of some of Istanbul’s greatest monuments. The bath was established by Nurbanu Sultan, wife of Sultan Selim II and mother of Sultan Murat III, for the purpose of bringing in revenue to support the Valide-i Atik Charity Complex in Toptaşı, Üsküdar. According to the Tuhfet’ül-mi’mârin, the bath is one of the structures built by the architect Sinan, in 1584.

The Çemberlitaş Hamam was planned as a double bath consisting of two identical, side-by-side facilities. The entrance for the men’s section is on Vezir Han Street and, because the road height has increased over time, it now has a deep entrance that is ten steps below street level. There are eaves over the entrance and on top of the entrance door there is an inscription with six lines in three columns.

In the past the entrance for the women’s section must have been from the Divanyolu Street adjacent to the tomb of Sultan Mahmut, but today women also use the men’s entrance and proceed to their own section through a side door. Part of the dressing room in the women’s section was lost when the Divanyolu street was widened in 1868.

The side that was cut off was closed with a wall that has rectangular windows on the bottom and star shaped ones at the top. The dressing room areas of the men and women’s sections are both roofed with large domes. There are three tiers of dressing rooms under these domes that were in the past both illuminated with windowed, dome- top cupolas called "roof lanterns".

Today only the lantern in the women’s section remains in its original state. The dome topped by this lantern rests on arches leaning on fine columns and is elegantly decorated. Today the men’s dressing room area, called the "cold area", is a quiet and restful area used as a resting and waiting place after the bath.

Each of the warm areas of the bath are  roofed by three domes. The toilets are reached from this area and have been built as extensions from the building proper. One enters the hot, bathing area from this transitional warm area through a wooden door in the area built under the middle dome. The plan of this hot area is unique as it does not entirely conform to traditional layouts for this bathing area. This can be explained with the fact that the architect Sinan both liked to innovate in his work, and also to the fact that Sinan was closely involved with the construction of the structure.

This space is shaped like a square on the outside, but the inner dimensions are in the shape of a circle formed of twelve columns, becoming a twelve-cornered polygon. The architect beautifully situated the domed, private bathing cubicles, the halvet, in the space made up of the four outer corners outside of the polygon.

Four antechambers are between the cubicle spaces. One enters the hot section by passing through these antechambers. The large dome covering the hot section is supported by high arches on top of columns with baklava shaped heads. The cubicles are separated from the main area by marble slab walls topped by tulip shapes. These dividers have inscriptions carved into each side. The private cubicles are entered through arched doorways at their front sides.

Couplets are inscribed on the front and the triangular shaped upper elements are covered with blossoms. The bath has 38 washing stalls. The multi-faceted central stone platform is directly beneath the wide dome. This broad heated platform is illuminated by the glass globe "elephant eyes" fitted into the overhead dome that catch the light from all directions.

This building dates to Sinan’s last period, one in which his long experience and great skill allowed him to combine functionality, elegance and tranquillity without abandoning his basic style that is devoid of overly decorated elements. For these reasons the architecture of his bath remains a focal point for Turkish and foreign researchers, universities, photographers, filmmakers, media professionals and students.

BATH SERVICES

At the entrance to the bath, the bather will select and pay for one of the bathing options and be given tokens and directions.

After undressing in the dressing room area the bather will wrap his or her body in the "peştemal," a printed cotton body wrap, before leaving the dressing room. After locking all belongings in the locker provided (remembering to keep the key on his or her person at all times), the bather passes into the hot area that includes the central heating stone platform. This area is called the "hot area" (sıcaklık alanı) and includes the large, hot stone which is surrounded by bathing basins (kurna) and private bathing cubicles (halvet).

The bather should first get his or her body to perspire, either by lying or sitting on the hot stone platform or pouring hot water on the body by sitting next to one of the basins. If you have chosen the second option, the attendant will give you an exfoliating scrub and massage as you lie on the hot platform. You will then move to one of the basins and the attendant will wash you there.

If you prefer, however, you may remain lying on the platform to further perspire and rest and then, when you please, you may move to one of the basins to wash the body. The scrub, massage, and wash by the attendant lasts for approximately fifteen minutes, while the typical bather will remain resting and washing for one to one and a half hours, but there is never a time limit.

If you chose the first option, you will perspire either on the hot platform or nearby areas and then wash yourself at one of the basins.

When you feel ready to leave the bath, you will be given towels to use for drying. When you first enter the bath you should use one "peştemal", but you may use more than one towel for drying.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Çemberlitaş Hamamı

MORE INFO & CONTACT
Phone : +90 212 522 7974 / +90 212 520 1850
Fax : +90 212 511 2535

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.

NURBANU VALİDEİ ATİK SULTAN COMPLEX

Üsküdar - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'06.4"N 29°01'22.9"E / 41.018444, 29.023028



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Located in Üsküdar, in a neighborhood named after itself, the complex consists of a group of buildings surrounding a mosque and a madrasah. It is quite unique with its historic sections like caravanserai, Hadith School, the school for the memorization of Quran, a kitchen, a guest house, an elementary school, a bath and a hospital. These buildings were built by Mimar Sinan between 1570 and 1579 and were founded by Nurbanu Valide Sultan who was the mother of Sultan Murad III.

Until the 18th century, the place was called “Valide Sultan Külliyesi” but after the construction of a new similar set of buildings in Üsküdar Square with the name of Gülnuş Sultan, it started to be known as Atik Valide, Valide-i Atik (The Old Valide).

The Atik Valide Sultan Complex is located on the hill above a large and densely populated district of Üsküdar, in Istanbul. The Atik Valide complex was commissioned by Sultan Selim II (1524-1574) in 1570 for his wife Nurbanu Sultan, and was fully completed by his son, Sultan Murad III (1546-1595) in 1579. Mimar Sinan completed the complex in 1583, and it was his last major work. Constructed on a site that descends towards the northwest, it consists of three building groups separated by streets and two small, free-standing structures.

Moving from northeast to southwest, the first and the smallest of the three building groups is the dervish hostel (tekke or dergah) on the northeast. The largest building group, located on the southwest, consists of a house for readers of the Koran (darül-kurra), a college of Islamic law (darül-hadis), a hospital with an insane asylum (darüssifa), and a soup kitchen for students (imaret). The imaret is subdivided into a kitchen, a hospice (tabhane) and a caravanserai.

Standing between the tekke and the imaret cluster is the mosque, together with a large fountain courtyard that surrounds it on three sides, and the madrasa, attached to the northwest side of the mosque courtyard. Of the two freestanding structures, the larger is the bathhouse, located on the west of the complex. The smaller is the Quranic school (sibyan mektebi), and it is located southeast of the mosque.

It is a madrasa which was built by Mimar Sinan between the years of 1570 and 1579. It is in Topbaşı neighborhood of Üsküdar district, Istanbul. The madrasa which was constructed just downward elevation of the courtyard of Atik Valide Sultan Mosque is not used now and it has been losing its architectural character day by day due to dilapidation. Unfortunately the construction whose courtyard can not be entered into can be seen from the outside

The madrasah of the complex consists of eighteen rooms and it remained in operation until 1918. While fifteen of the rooms were dedicated to be used by the students, two of them were used by teaching assistants and the latter was reserved for the custodian. The madrasah was renovated between 1960 and 1963. It was a shelter for the homeless for a period of time.

The madrasa, which is attached to the northwest of the mosque courtyard, has a trapezoidal plan that narrows from southwest to northeast. Composed of eighteen cells and a classroom, the madrasa is fronted by a nineteen-bay portico that encircles its courtyard on three sides. Its fenestrated southeastern wall forms the border of and contains an entrance into the mosque fountain courtyard.

The main entrance from the street is located at the south corner of the madrasa. The classroom of the madrasa, located in the middle of the northwestern wall, can be accessed from either entrance. This classroom, which is as large as four of its student cells, is shifted off axis towards the northwest, allowing space for a secondary, three-bay portico in front of the classroom. The street is located below the floor level of the madrasa, and this projection is supported by a vault as it passes over the street.

Articulation on the main portico highlights the presence of the classroom; in addition, the secondary portico contains a central domed bay flanked by two mirror-vaulted, rectangular bays. One enters through the double portico to view the classroom, which is topped by a dome on an octagonal drum. The classroom has two rows of windows on three sides; its northwestern elevation is left blind for privacy, as the classroom projects northwest, extending over a street.

In the madrasa, the student cells, all furnished with stoves, are roofed by domes with pendentives. They are accessed via the doors beneath the portico. Each madrasa cell has one window on the courtyard side and two on the elevation. Inside the portico of the madrasa, all of the nineteen bays are domed, with the exception of the vaulted bays in front of the classroom and the bay at the northeastern end of the portico. An octagonal fountain, whose roof has since vanished, stands in the madrasa courtyard before the entrance to the classroom.

They are accessed via the doors beneath the portico. Each madrasa cell has one window on the courtyard side and two on the elevation. Inside the portico of the madrasa, all of the nineteen bays are domed, with the exception of the vaulted bays in front of the classroom and the bay at the northeastern end of the portico. An octagonal fountain, whose roof has since vanished, stands in the madrasa courtyard before the entrance to the classroom.

The Atik Valide Sultan bath is a part of Atik Valide Complex, combined of Mosque, Tekke, Imaret Group, Darüşşifa, Hospice, Madrasa, Baths, Mental Hospital, Caravanserai, Hadith School, School For The Memorization Of Quran, Elementary School. The Valide-i Atik Külliye’s renovation by the General Directorate of Foundations continues and will be used for educational purposes when it is finished.

FATİH SULTAN MEHMET WAQF UNIVERSITY ÜSKÜDAR CAMPUS

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Waqf University (FSMWU) is a newly established i 2010 higher education institute whose goal is to be at the forefront of Turkish higher education and research. Its supporting waqf, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Waqf was however, established in 1470 and has been providing such facilities for over five centuries.

The name Fatih Sultan Mehmet comes from the conqueror of Istanbul. Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Mehmet II) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1444 to 1446 and from 1451 to 1481. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople in 1453 and opened a new era in history. He found many "Vakifs" ( foundations) to establish schools, hostels, other facilities and to offer social services. His own foundation along with four other historical foundations have been allocated by General Directorate of Foundations in 2009 to establish FSMV University.

FSMWU emerged from the historical waqf tradition which played an influential role in the scientific, civic, and cultural life throughout Ottoman history. Being priviledged to have its origins in the centuries old civic and academic heritage, FSMWU strives to carry on this tradition by combining traditional education with contemporary knowledge.

FSMWU is located on the historical peninsula of Istanbul’s European side. Therefore, FSMWU has a unique mission for the Turkish Higher Education system in the heart of Istanbul where daily life intertwines with culture, history, and art. Located in the cradle of civilization, FSMWU is the academic face of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, reflected in the diversity of languages that make up our curriculum. FSMWU hosts all members of the higher education community, from faculty members and researchers, to graduate and undergraduate students.

Faculties, Schools and Institute
FSMW University is made up of 10 principal academic units - 5 faculties, 4 institutes and 2 vocational schools.

Faculties
Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Turkish Language and Literature, History, Psychology, History of Science,
Faculty of Engineering, Computer Engineering, Civil Engineering, Biomedical Engineering,
Faculty of Architecture and Design, Architecture, Interior-Architecture,
Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Islamic Sciences, Faculty of Fine Arts, Traditional Turkish Arts, Graphic Design
Faculty of Law

Real Estate Holdings
Rectorate Building, Fatih, Campus at Haliç, Campus at Kandilli, Campus at Topkapı, Campus at Küçük Çamlıca, Campus at Valide-i Atik Complex

This Campus hosts: Faculty of Letters and Humanities

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Fatih Sultan Mehmet Waqf University Üsküdar Campus

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : fsm@fsm.edu.tr
Phone : +90 212 521 8100
Fax : +90 216 310 29 27

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.