DAMAT İBRAHİM PASHA COMPLEX

Şehzadebaşı, Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'23.4"N 28°58'28.6"E / 41.006500, 28.974611



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This complex was built in 1720 by the order of Damad Ibrahim Pasha (1718-1730) who held the office of Grand Vizier three times of Ottoman Empire. It is located at the corner of Dede Efendi Street and Şehzadepaşa Street. The complex was built by Chief Architect Kayserili Mehmet Ağa for Nevşehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha in the 1720s.

It is one of the most important works of Damat Ibrahim Pasha Complex. If we consider water-tank with a fountain as the centre of Complex, Madrasa covers a half of the complex. All the other parts of complex are on the other side of water-tank. Damad Ibrahim Pasha Complex was built with the aim of being used as Darul Hadis Madrassa and library. Today madrasa is used as cultural centre by East Turkistan Foundation.

Built between 1726-1727 under Damat İbrahim Pasha's direction, it consists of a mosque, madrasah, sabil, cemetary, library, sibyan mektebi (junior school), imaret (kitchens for madrasah students) and Turkish bath.

Kurşunlu Mosque is known as Damat İbrahim Pasha Mosque. However because its domes are made out of lead, locally it is called Kurşunlu Mosque (Leaded Mosque). It was built by head architect Mehmet Ağa and his foreman Serkis and located in a courtyard surrounded by high and thick walls. The courtyard has three entrances.

The west side door which is also used today has double arches. The inner arch is decorated with verses from the era's famous poet Nedim.The main area of the mosque is reached through a wooden door with two arches. The lower arch is decorated with verses from Seyyid Vehbi. This square shaped main area is covered with a dome.

The exterior of the building has a simple architecture, however the interior has been adorned with stencilled motifs from the Lale Era. The minaret on the north side of the mosque is built in the baroque style and embellished with Acanthus leaves. In the years when the schoolroom of the complex was transformed into a mosque, the minaret with a sherefe (minaret balcony) was added to the present complex. This structure is the only remaining part of the complex that has survived until today.

The Ablutions Fountain stands in the middle of the courtyard, on top of 8 marble pillars and covered with lead. The body of the water tank has 12 corners. The taps are separated by small marble pillars. The gutter of the wooden interior domes is decorated with geometrical shapes and zigzags. The water-tank with a fountain of the mosque is located at the woodland in the complex.

As for the fountain of the mosque, it was located in the middle of the courtyard, amid the trees. The fountain of the complex was damaged during road works. The public fountain of the complex, according to its inscription, was finished in 1719.

Madrasah (School) built at the same time, it stands on the west side of the mosque. Cut stone was used in its construction. After being refurbished in 1961 it was reopened as a Public Library. The arched entry door of the madrasah contains an epigraph from Seyyid Vehbi. A square shaped courtyard holds domed madrasah rooms containing cupboards and stoves. There are also iwan rooms that were used by the students studying in the madrassa.

The rooms with eyvan, a vaulted room with one side open to a courtyard, located in the same direction of the graves, was built for madrasah (Qur'an School) students. In the period of its activity as a madrasah, it is known that the little complex had been decked out with a crowded permanent staff. Flowers motif used in the ornaments of the structure showed parallelism with the understanding of architecture during the “Tulip Era” (1718-1730) and increases its artistic value.

Library located to the north east of madrasah, it dates to 1727. The interior of this domed square structure is decorated with stencils. It is known that Damat İbrahim Pasha presented 187 volumes to the library. The structure with portico and dome, opposite the masjid on the right side of the crowned gate, is a library.

Imaret (Kitchen) built in 1726, it stands south of the madrasah. It consists of two rooms, a kitchen, toilets and a storage room carved in rock. It was used as a prison for some time and in 1949 transformed into a museum. Today it is used as a soup kitchen.

Sibyan Mektebi (Junior School) located to the south of the Imaret in the same courtyard, the first floor of this two-storey building was carved in rock. Today it is used as a storage depot. The second floor is made of cut stone and has three domed rooms each holding a window looking onto the courtyard.

Turkish Bath built in 1727 to the north of the mosque complex, it consists of separate buildings that are made out of cut stone. An octagonal saloon on the top floor holds changing rooms with wood cladding. There is an octagonal pool in the middle of the domed saloon.

Fountains are two fountains in the mosques complex; the first one is on the north wall of the mosque courtyard, and the other one, which holds an epigraph by Seyyid Vehbi (a poet), is on the supporting wall on the corner of Sibyan Mektebi. Both are adorned with various decorations. The public fountain of the complex, located on Şehzadepaşa Street, came to harm during road construction.

The grave of Damat Ibrahim Paşa and his sons are present in the southern section of the complex’s courtyard. The graves of Damat İbrahim Pasha and his sons, Mehmet and Mustafa, are situated in the southern section of the complex’s courtyard.

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TAKKECİ İBRAHİM AĞA MOSQUE

Maltepe, Zeytinburnu - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'48.4"N 28°54'56.2"E / 41.030111, 28.915611



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The Takkeci Ibrahim Ağa Mosque is located outside the Byzantine land walls, on the old road to Edirne (Adrinople) across from the historic Topkapı cemetery. It was built by Takkeci Ibrahim Ağa (d. 1595), a local craftsman of soft felt dervish caps (takke or arakiye) during the rule of Sultan Murad III between 1591-1592.

At the time it was built, the mosque stood in one of the first Ottoman settlements outside the city walls and was used as a tekiyya (tekke) of the Halveti order. A Quranic school (mekteb) and two sabils (sebil) were built near the mosque to serve the needs of the neighborhood and Dervis Paşa added a fountain in 1819. Between 1830-1831, a comprehensive restoration was conducted by the order of Sultan Mahmud II. The ban on tekiyyas during the Republican years transformed the functions of the mosque.

The mosque was then severed from its neighborhood with the construction of the E-5 highway to the west of the mosque in the 1950s. Its neighborhood to the south and east were wiped away by industrialization; a project is currently underway by the Zeytinburnu Municipality to create an arts and crafts village to the east of the mosque.

The mosque is diagonally positioned in a rectangular walled-in precinct that is entered from three gates, with the main gate located across from the Topkapı cemetery to the north. Immediately behind the mosque within precinct walls are a small single-story Quranic school, a well, and an open-sabil with a tall inscriptive plaque. Built of cut stone alternated with double rows of bricks, the mosque is a simple rectangular building wrapped by a tall wooden portico with a zigzag gable roof.

Entering the mosque through the portico, an inscription above the simple marble entrance gives the name of the donor and the date of construction. There is a mihrab niche on either side of the entrance and the lower windows of the entry façade have been adorned with Quranic excerpts in their tympana. The door is an example of the interlocked woodwork (kündekari) of the period. A second entrance is located next to the minaret, along the northeastern wall.

Inside, the prayer hall 11.7 meters long and 11.25 meters wide and is crowned by a small wooden dome at its center. The dome, which is 5.5 meters in diameter, is concealed with a hipped roof on the exterior that rises above the portico roof. It is decorated with a band of gilt stalactites at its rim and a calligraphic medallion at its apex painted on deerskin. This dome is a rare example of the few such concealed domes in Istanbul, seen also seventeenth century Amcazade Hüseyin Seaside Mansion and the Twin Kiosks at the Topkapı Palace harem.

The interior is lit by twenty-eight windows placed at two levels. The lower windows are casements; they have tiles in their tympana except along the qibla wall where Quranic inscriptions are painted gold on black. The arched upper windows display fine arrangements of white and colored glass and are framed with painted decorations. A wooden balcony (mahfil), raised on wooden pillars, flanks the northwest wall and extends midway along the sidewalls and is used primarily by the müezzin.

The Takkeci Ibrahim Ağa Mosque is famous for its sixteenth century Iznik tiles that adorn the walls from the floor to the upper windows. Painted in red, light blue, turquoise and navy blue on a white glazed surface, the tiles are combined into large floral panels. The mihrab niche, crowned with stalactites, is also covered with tiles and is topped with a prayer inscribed on tiles. The minbar, to its right, is carved entirely of marble.

This is the only wooden mosque in Istanbul that appears to preserve essentially its original appearance. It is rectangular in form, with a wooden roof and porch. This is the simplest and cheapest to build and is therefore the commonest of all mosque types; but in almost all surviving examples the wooden roof and porch have succumbed to fire and have been reconstructed even more cheaply, losing thereby their charm and distinction.

Doubtless because of its isolation in the country outside the walls, Takkeci Ibrahim Ağa Camii seems to have escaped the fires and has preserved its original porch and roof. It was founded in 1592 by a certain Ibrahim who was a maker of the felt hats called takke or arakiye, especially the long conical kind worn by the dervishes.

A stone wall with grilles and the remains of a fine sebil at the corner surrounds the mosque courtyard-garden. The deeply projecting wooden tiled roof of the porch is supported by a double row of wooden pillars. Since the porch extends halfway round both sides of the mosque, the pillars give the effect of a little copse of trees, the more so since the paint has long since worn off. The roof itself has three dashing gables along the façade; a very quaint and pretty arrangement.

On the right rises the fine minaret with a beautiful stalactited şerefe. Handsome but rather heavy inscriptions adorn the spaces over the door and windows. Within, a wooden balcony runs round the west wall and half of the side walls; it has a cornice which preserves the original arabesque painting, such as we have just seen at Kara Ahmet Paşa Mosque .

The ceiling is of wood painted dark green and in the centre is a wooden dome on an octagonal cornice; one sees how greatly the dome adds to the charm of the interior and what a disaster it is when these ceilings are reconstructed flat. Two rows of windows admit light; the tiny one over the mihrab preserves some ancient, brilliant stained glass. Beneath the upper row of windows the walls are entirely revetted with tiles of the greatest period of Iznik in great panels with vases of leaves and flowers.

The mosque has a single minaret attached to the northeast façade, which is accessed from the exterior or from the müezzin's balcony on the inside. Its multifaceted shaft is constructed of cut stone and carries a single stalactite balcony (şerefe). The fountain built by Derviş Paşa adjoins the northeast corner of the precinct walls facing the street. Across from it is the second sabil, currently in ruins, with the tombs of Ibrahim Paşa and his son Halil Çavus in the cemetery behind it.

It was repaired twice in the past. The first was done in 1830 and the latter was done in 1985 by Vakıflar İdaresi (Directorate of Religious Foundations).

He is buried in the sebil (kiosk built for the dispensing of free drinking water to people) next to Ibrahim Efendi Mosque. The Takkeci Ibrahim Ağa Mosque that was built during the reign of Sultan Selim III is still open for prayers.

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LITTLE HAGIA SOPHIA MOSQUE

Kumkapı, Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'10.4"N 28°58'20.8"E / 41.002889, 28.972444



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Little Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Küçuk Ayasofya Camii), formerly the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus, is a former Eastern Orthodox church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople, converted into a mosque during the Ottoman Empire.

This Byzantine building with a central dome plan was erected in the sixth century by Justinian, likely was a model for Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia), and is one of the most important early Byzantine buildings in Istanbul. It was recognized at the time as an adornment to the entire city, and a modern historian of the East Roman Empire has written that the church, "by the originality of its architecture and the sumptuousness of its carved decoration, ranks in Constantinople second only to St. Sophia itself".

The Küçük Ayasofya Mosque is identified as the Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, constructed by Justinian I (527-565) following his ascension to the throne and is often considered the pre-cursor to the Great Church of Hagia Sophia. It was built inside the sea walls along the Sea of Marmara and stood in close proximity to the Hormisdas Palace, Justinian's residence prior to his enthronement. Historical resources show that the church dedicated to the Sts. Sergius and Bacchus was built adjoining the north wall of an existing basilica dedicated to the Sts. Peter and Paul. The two churches shared a courtyard to the west and were surrounded by monastery buildings managed by the Monophysites.

Location
The building stands in Istanbul, in the district of Fatih and in the neighborhood of Kumkapı, at a short distance from the Marmara Sea, near the ruins of the Great Palace and to the south of the Hippodrome. It is now separated from the sea by the Sirkeci-Halkalı suburban railway line and the coastal road, Kennedy Avenue.

History

Byzantine period
According to later legend, during the reign of Justin I, his nephew Justinian had been accused of plotting against the throne and was sentenced to death, avoided after Saints Sergius and Bacchus appeared before Justin and vouched for Justinian’s innocence. He was freed and restored to his title of Caesar, and in gratitude vowed that he would dedicate a church to the saints once he became emperor. The construction of this Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, between 527 and 536 AD (only a short time before the erection of the Hagia Sophia between 532 and 537), was one of the first acts of the reign of Justinian I.

The new church lay at the border between the First and Τhird Regio of the City, in an irregular area between the Palace of Hormisdas (the house of Justinian before his accession to the throne) and the Church of the Saints Peter and Paul. Back then, the two churches shared the same narthex, atrium and propylaea. The new church became the center of the complex, and part still survives today, towards the south of the northern wall of one of the two other edifices. The church was one of the most important religious structures in Constantinople. Shortly after the building of the church a monastery bearing the same name was built near the edifice.

Construction of the new church began shortly before that of Hagia Sophia, built from 532 to 537. It was believed that the building had been designed by the same architects, Isidorus of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, as a kind of "dress rehearsal" for that of the largest church of the Byzantine Empire. However, the building is quite different in architectural detail from the Hagia Sophia and the notion that it was but a small-scale version has largely been discredited.

During the years 536 and 537, the Palace of Hormisdas became a Monophysite monastery, where followers of that sect, coming from the eastern regions of the Empire and escaping the persecutions against them, found protection by Empress Theodora. In year 551 Pope Vigilius, who some years before had been summoned to Constantinople by Justinian, found refuge in the church from the soldiers of the Emperor who wanted to capture him, and this attempt caused riots. During the Iconoclastic period the monastery became one of the centers of this movement in the City.

The nave is elaborately detailed with carved capitals, and the gallery entablature-inscribed with a poetic praise of Justinian and his wife, Theodora-has a delicate contour. To the west, the gallery joins an unadorned double-story narthex, separated only by a series of columns and piers. Three small bays, placed along the southern gallery, may have led into the adjoining Church Sts. Peter and Paul. This wall, as seen from the outside, is indeed the northern wall of the latter church that remains incorporated into the neighboring structure.

Ottoman period
After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the church remained untouched until the reign of Sultan Bayezid II. Then (between 1506 and 1513) it was transformed into a mosque by Hüseyin Ağa, the chief of the Aghas (Black Eunuchs), who were the custodians of the Bab-ı-Saadet (literally The Gate of Felicity in Ottoman Turkish) in the Sultan's residence, the Topkapı Palace. At that time the portico and madrasah were added to the church. In 1740 the Grand Vizier Hacı Ahmet Paşa restored the mosque and built the Şadırvan (ablution fountain). The fountain was later removed in 1938. In 1762 the minaret was first built. It was demolished in 1940 and built again in 1956.

Damaged in the earthquakes of 1648 and 1763, the complex was repair by Sultan Mahmud II in 1831. If anything had remained from adjoining Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, it was removed during the construction of a railroad passing immediately to the south of the mosque in the 1860s, transforming the topography of the site. The architecture of the former church, despite modifications to its doors and windows, has largely remained intact.

Hüseyin Ağa, the chief officer of the Ottoman Palace during the rule of Sultan Bayezid II (1481-1512), added the Ottoman narthex and built twenty-four zawiya cells enclosing the courtyard of the new complex, which he endowed with income from a nearby public bath and two hans near the Hagia Sophia. His tomb (türbe), built after his execution in 1510, lies in the walled cemetery that wraps around the north and east sides of the former church.

The pace of decay of the building, which already suffered because of humidity and earthquakes through the centuries, accelerated after the construction of the railway. Parts of St. Peter and Paul to the south of the building were demolished to accommodate the rail line. Other damage was caused by the building's use as housing for the refugees during the Balkan Wars.

Due to the increasing threats to the building's static integrity, it was added some years ago to the UNESCO watch list of endangered monuments. The World Monuments Fund added it to its Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in 2002, 2004, and 2006. After an extensive restoration which lasted several years and ended in September 2006, it has been opened again to the public and for worship.

Exterior Architecture
The complex is entered through three gates, north, south and west, which lead into a courtyard enclosed by the U-shaped zawiya on three sides. An inscriptive plaque located above the northern gate bears a saying of the Prophet. Located to the east of the courtyard, the mosque is entered through a five-bay classical Ottoman portico that precedes the narthex. Its central plan is composed of an octagon inscribed in a rectangle; the domed octagonal nave is outlined by a continuous gallery on two floors, which envelops the nave to the north, west and south.

The galleries terminate on either end of an apsidal sanctuary projecting to the east. Composed of sixteen ribs with eight windows, the nave dome is supported on eight wide arches that fall on eight heavy piers forming an octagon. The space between the piers is spanned by twenty-eight marble columns, two in each bay with the exception of the sanctuary, that form the double-story gallery. The upper gallery columns are interlaced with small arches and wooden balustrades.

Columns at the four corners of the nave are arranged to form semi-circular niches that are crowned with semi-domes at the upper gallery level. The nave is elaborately detailed with carved capitals, and the gallery entablature-inscribed with a poetic praise of Justinian and his wife, Theodora-has a delicate contour.

The exterior masonry of the structure adopts the usual technique of that period in Constantinople, which uses bricks sunk in thick beds of mortar. The walls are reinforced by chains made of small stone blocks. The building, the central plan of which was consciously repeated in the basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna and served as a model for the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan in the construction of the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, has the shape of an octagon inscribed in an irregular quadrilateral. It is surmounted by a beautiful umbrella dome in sixteen compartments with eight flat sections alternating with eight concave ones, standing on eight polygonal pillars.

The narthex lies on the west side, opposed to an antechoir. Many effects in the building were later used in Hagia Sophia: the exedrae expand the central nave on diagonal axes, colorful columns screen the ambulatories from the nave, and light and shadow contrast deeply on the sculpture of capitals and entablature. In front of the building there is a portico (which replaced the atrium) and a court (both added during the Ottoman period), with a small garden, a fountain for the ablutions and several small shops.

To the west, the gallery joins an unadorned double-story narthex, separated only by a series of columns and piers. Three small bays, placed along the southern gallery, may have led into the adjoining Church Sts. Peter and Paul. This wall, as seen from the outside, is indeed the northern wall of the latter church that remains incorporated into the neighboring structure. The mosque has a single minaret on the southwest corner, which dates from 1955.

Interior Architecture
Inside the edifice there is a beautiful two-storey colonnade which runs along the north, west and south sides, and bears an elegant inscription in twelve Greek hexameters dedicated to the Emperor Justinian, his wife, Theodora, and Saint Sergius, the patron-saint of the soldiers of the Roman army. For some unknown reason, Saint Bacchus is not mentioned. The columns are alternately of verd antique and red Synnada marble; the lower storey has 16, while the upper has 18. Many of the column capitals still bear the monograms of Justinian and Theodora.

Nothing remains of the original interior decoration of the church, which contemporary chroniclers describe as being covered in mosaics with walls of variegated marble. During the Ottoman conversion into a mosque, the windows and entrance were modified, floor level raised, and interior walls plastered.

The Küçük Ayasofya's interior is decorated and furnished as a mosque, with Arabic calligraphy and designs in blue painted on white walls. Originally, the walls and vault would have been completely covered in golden mosaics, like those that survive from this period in Ravenna, and probably frescoes as well.

Grounds
North of the edifice there is a small Muslim cemetery with the türbe of Hüseyin Ağa, the founder of the mosque.

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ŞEHZADE MOSQUE COMPLEX

Şehzadebaşı, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'51.0"N 28°57'25.0"E / 41.014167, 28.956944



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The Şehzade Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the Şehzadebaşı neighborhood of district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It is sometimes referred to as the “Prince's Mosque” in English. Located on the main artery connecting Beyazit to Edirnekapı, the site is bounded by the Divanyolu boulevard to its south and the Valens aqueduct, constructed during the Roman era, to its north. Its west side borders a park along Atatürk boulevard adjacent to Saraçhane Square. Overall, the site measures approximately 240 meters wide east to west and 160 meters long north to south.

The Şehzade Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Süleyman I in memory of his eldest son by Hürrem, Prince Mehmet, who died of smallpox at the age of 21 in 1543, though the cause for his death is disputed. It was the first major commission by the Imperial Architect Mimar Sinan, and was completed in 1548. It is considered by architectural historians as Sinan's first masterpiece of classical Ottoman architecture.

According its Persian inscription Şehzade Mosque and Complex was built by Imperial Architect Mimar Sinan between 1543 and 1548, on behalf of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent’s son by Hürrem, Şehzade Mehmet, who died of smallpox at the age of 21 in 1543 in Manisa. The general opinion is the Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent had started the construction on his own behalf; however, he dedicated this complex to his favourite son, who died in 22.

Şehzade complex (Külliye) consists of the mosque, the tomb (türbe) of Prince Mehmet (which was completed prior to the mosque), two Qur'an schools (medrese), a public kitchen (imaret) which served food to the poor, and a caravansarai. The mosque and its courtyard are surrounded by a wall that separates them from the rest of the complex.

Exterior Architecture
The mosque is surrounded by an inner colonnaded courtyard (avlu) with an area equal to that of the mosque itself. The courtyard is bordered by a portico with five domed bays on each side, with arches in alternating pink and white marble. At the center is an ablution fountain (şadırvan), which was a later donation from Sultan Murat IV. The two minarets have elaborate geometric sculpture in low bas-relief and occasional terracotta inlays.

The mosque itself has a square plan, covered by a central dome, flanked by four half-domes. The dome is supported by four piers, and has a diameter of 19 meters and it is 37 meters high. It was in this building that Sinan first adopted the technique of placing colonnaded galleries along the entire length of the north and south facades in order to conceal the buttresses.

Interior Architecture
The interior of the Şehzade Mosque has a symmetrical plan, with the area under the central dome expanded by use of four semidomes, one on each side, in the shape of a four leaf clover. This technique was not entirely successful, as it isolated the four huge piers needed to support the central dome, and was never again repeated by Sinan. The interior of the mosque has a very simple design, without galleries.

Complex
The complex is composed of several distinct structures within a polygonal walled perimeter. Şehzade complex (Külliye) is situated between Fatih Sultan Mehmet II and Sultan Bayezid II complexes. The Külliye consists of the mosque, and six unique mausolea (türbe) ( 1 of Prince Mehmet (which was completed prior to the mosque), two Qur'an schools (medrese), tabhane, elementary school, cemetery, a public kitchen (imaret) which served food to the poor, and a caravansarai.

The mosque and its courtyard are surrounded by a wall that separates them from the rest of the complex. Construction of the complex began in 1544 CE (AH 951) and was largely completed by 1549 CE (AH 956).

The complex is composed of several distinct structures within a polygonal walled perimeter. Overall, the site measures approximately 240 meters wide east to west and 160 meters long north to south. The mosque is located at the center of the walled site, surrounded by gardens and pathways leading to other buildings within the complex. The mosque is accessible from the north, south, and west via five primary entrances; three portals open into the avlu and two into the prayer hall. The qibla wall forms the eastern elevation of the mosque.

The plan of the mosque is composed of two adjacent squares, each measuring forty-two meters to a side. The western half of the mosque forms an avlu, a square central courtyard surrounded by a row of vaulted portico bays accented with white and pink marble voussoirs. The avlu is notable as the first example in Ottoman architecture of the use of an open-air portico, instead of enclosed galleries, as the surround for a mosque courtyard.

The octagonal marble ablution fountain in the center of the courtyard was donated after the original construction of the complex by Sultan Murat IV (1612-1640 CE / AH 1021-1050). At the center of the east wall of the avlu is a recessed portal leading into the prayer hall, topped by elaborate carved muqarnas.

The mosque's two minarets rise above the northeast and southeast corners of the avlu at the northwest and southwest corners of the prayer hall. The enclosed stairways of the minarets are accessed from small portals on the exterior of the mosque. The shafts of the twin minarets feature ornate decorative sculpture in the form of geometric bas-reliefs and inlaid terracotta panels.

The eastern half of the mosque is the enclosed prayer hall. The prayer hall features a symmetrical, centrally focused plan, as did many of Sinan's mosques. Just as in the portico to the west, the plan of the hall is organized according to a five aisle by five row grid, in which domed bays along the perimeter form a square border around a larger three bay by three bay space at the center. The corner bays are each slightly under eight meters square, while the bays along the center of each wall are approximately twenty-two meters long and eight meters deep.

Four massive pillars are located at the corners of the large central bay, whose interior spans nineteen meters square. The pillars each measure close to five meters square to provide support for the massive arches that frame the edges of the central bay. These four arches are flanked by semi-domes that cover the central bays along each wall of the prayer hall. The four arches also provide support for a nineteen-meter-wide dome that springs from pendentives over the center of the prayer hall.

The central dome rises to a maximum height of thirty-seven meters, suggesting a spherical space in section. Three-meter-deep galleries line the exteriors of the north and south walls to conceal large buttresses that provide additional structural support for the heavy central dome.

The interior is primarily of white stone, with polychrome Iznik tile work in radial geometric patterns at the centers of each dome and semi-dome of the ceiling, as well as within triangular panels on the squinches and pendentives. The voussoirs are finished in a pattern of alternating red and white stones to draw attention to the large arches supporting the roof. A large circular iron chandelier is suspended from the central dome above the red carpeted floor. The mihrab niche is surmounted by muqarnas and surrounded by large stained-glass windows.

Entrances to the prayer hall are located at the center of its north, west, and south walls, while the mihrab niche occupies the center of the east qibla wall. The minbar is located four meters to the south of the mihrab niche along the qibla wall. As the four pillars at the center of the support much of the load of the domed roof structure, the exterior walls have relatively little load to bear and thus are highly perforated to allow generous sunlight. Sinan revised this simple plan in his later imperial mosques to allow the support piers to be better integrated with the exterior walls of the prayer hall and thus less isolated near its center.

Though tabhanes were often directly attached to mosques later in Ottoman period, the tabhane at the Şehzade complex is a freestanding structure located to the east of the madrasa and north of the mosque, mausolea, and gardens. The tabhane is composed of a series of domed chambers designed to house pious travelers during short visits to the mosque. The tabhane is subdivided into three sections; the western and central sections are identical, while the larger eastern section features a unique interior organization and an adjacent trapezoidal courtyard.

The enclosed portion of the eastern section is composed of two aisles of domed bays, each four rows deep. The sections to the west are each subdivided into thirds, with two small domed chambers to both the east and west of a larger central domed space. The tabhane measures between sixty-two and sixty-seven meters wide east to west and between thirteen and twenty-four meters long north to south.

The complex is interrupted by Dede Efendi Street to the east of the tabhane and mausolea, and though the complex's perimeter wall creates a solid boundary along the street-edge, a hospice and elementary school affiliated with the mosque were constructed directly across the narrow street. The hospice is rectangular with a large central courtyard, measuring approximately twenty-five meters wide east to west and fifty-six meters long north to south. The elementary school is located adjacent and to the south of the hospice, a small square domed structure measuring ten meters to a side.

Opposite the elementary school, a small break in the complex perimeter wall allows entry to the gardens north of the mausolea. There is a second entrance opening to the courtyard of the tabhane, opposite the entrance to the hospice. The perimeter wall is further perforated to the east and south of the mausolea and to the south and west of the mosque in order to permit diverse points of entry to the complex, with no apparent primary gateway.

Mosque
The mosque has an area of 38 x 38 meters with a central dome that was constructed on four big columns. The dome has a diameter of 19 meters and a depth of 53 meters. The central dome was supported by four half-domes. The mosque has two minarets with two sherefes (minaret balcony) each with ornamentation and decoration pretty far from the architectural simplicity of that period. The nine domes of the mosque which encircle the courtyard have the same dimensions and the same height and form a symmetric unity with the fountain located in the middle of the complex.

Evliya Chelebi (1611-1684), the famous 17th century Ottoman traveler and writer, stated that the dome of the fountain had been built by Sultan Murad IV and praised the architect Sinan, due to the decoration of the minarets.

The mosque is located in the center of the complex. It is surrounded by a courtyard and contains an inner courtyard as well. In the middle of the interior courtyard is a domed reservoir used for ablutions. The minarets are found where the walls of the courtyard and mosque meet. The two minarets each have twin galleries and are unique in Istanbul due to their exterior ornamentation.

The main dome of the mosque rests on four elephant legs. The most striking of the structures within the mosque are the pulpit, niche and müezzin gallery. The medresse, primary school, soup kitchen and hospital are found to the north of the complex and were built in such a way as to constitute a courtyard wall.

The mosque is located at the center of the walled site, surrounded by gardens and pathways leading to other buildings within the complex. The mosque is accessible from the north, south, and west via five primary entrances; three portals open into the avlu and two into the prayer hall. The qibla wall forms the eastern elevation of the mosque.

The interior of the Şehzade Mosque has a symmetrical plan, with the area under the central dome expanded by use of four semidomes, one on each side, in the shape of a four leaf clover. This technique was not entirely successful, as it isolated the four huge piers needed to support the central dome, and was never again repeated by Sinan. The interior of the mosque has a very simple design, without galleries.

Because there is no column or wall dividing the interior of the mosque measuring 40.58 x 40.43 m, the view of the mosque is more attractive. The mosque was restored in 1616 after the fire of 1613. The two minarets, 41.5 m in height, having elaborate geometric decorations, were damaged during the fires of 1718 and 1722. The dome, 24 windows, is supported by four piers through large arches, and has a diameter of 18.7 m and it is 37 meters high.

The mosque’s courtyard is surrounded by a portico with 16 domes and 12 columns. It was in this building that Sinan first adopted the technique of placing colonnaded galleries along the entire length of the north and south facades in order to conceal the buttresses. The fountain, in the center, was built during the reign of Sultan Murat IV (1623 - 1640).

The mosque is surrounded by an inner colonnaded courtyard (avlu) with an area equal to that of the mosque itself. The courtyard is bordered by a portico with five domed bays on each side, with arches in alternating pink and white marble. At the center is an ablution fountain (şadırvan), which was a later donation from Sultan Murat IV. The two minarets have elaborate geometric sculpture in low bas-relief and occasional terracotta inlays.

The mosque itself has a square plan, covered by a central dome, flanked by four half-domes. The dome is supported by four piers, and has a diameter of 19 meters and it is 37 meters high. It was in this building that Sinan first adopted the technique of placing colonnaded galleries along the entire length of the north and south facades in order to conceal the buttresses.

The plan of the mosque is composed of two adjacent squares, each measuring forty-two meters to a side. The western half of the mosque forms an avlu, a square central courtyard surrounded by a row of vaulted portico bays accented with white and pink marble voussoirs. The avlu is notable as the first example in Ottoman architecture of the use of an open-air portico, instead of enclosed galleries, as the surround for a mosque courtyard.

The octagonal marble ablution fountain in the center of the courtyard was donated after the original construction of the complex by Sultan Murat IV (1612-1640 CE / AH 1021-1050). At the center of the east wall of the avlu is a recessed portal leading into the prayer hall, topped by elaborate carved muqarnas.

The Tombs
There are six mausoleums within the complex, five in an enclosed cemetery and one in the walls of the other court. The tomb of Şehzade Mehmed is one of the finest of them. The imperial mausoleums (türbe) are noted for their lavish use of İznik tiles. The first and largest is the türbe of Şehzade Mehmet, an octagonal structure, with polychrome stonework and terracotta window frames and arches and an opus sectile porch. The double dome is fluted. An inscription in Persian verse over the door gives the date of the Prince's death and suggests that the interior of the türbe is like a garden in Paradise.

The structure is supported by terracotta arches and roofed by a fluted dome. The tomb of Şehzade Mehmed is located at the center of the mausoleum, covered by a walnut baldachin. Openings in the walls allow for stained glass windows on all faces, as well as an entrance portal on the north elevation. A porch featuring inlaid opus sectile stonework leads to the entrance portal, which is surmounted by a commemorative inscription in Persian verse.

The starting year of the construction of the Tomb for Prince Mehmet was 1543 and it was completed in 1544. Walls of the tomb were covered with ceramics, and the windows have stained glass. Other than the tomb of Prince Mehmet, there are the sarcophagus of Cihangir, son of the the Süleyman the Magnificient who passed away in early age just like Prince Mehmet, the sarcophagus of Hümüşah, the daughter of the Süleyman the Magnificient, as well as three unknown sarcophagi in the tomb. Openings in the walls allow for stained glass windows on all faces, as well as an entrance portal on the north elevation.

Also designed by Sinan, the mausoleum of Grand Vizier Rüstem Paşa (1561-62 CE / AH 968-969) and his son were buried is located two meters south of Şehzade Mehmed's mausoleum. Rüstem Pasha was the son-in-law of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Like the mosque of Rüstem Paşa in Istanbul, the octagonal mausoleum features elaborate Iznik tile work.

The mausoleum of Şehzade Mahmud (d. 1603 CE / AH 1012), located five meters to the southwest of Şehzade Mehmed's structure, is a hexagonal structure measuring three meters to a side. Immediately to its south is the slightly smaller octagonal mausoleum of Seyhülislam Bostanzade Mehmed (d. 1598 CE / AH 1007).

Nine meters to the west, a larger octagonal mausoleum measuring four meters to a side honors Bosnian İbrahim Paşa (d. 1603 CE / AH 1012), Grand Vizier to and son-in-law of Sultan Murat II. Designed by Dalgıç Ahmed Ağa, this mausoleum is almost as large as that of Şehzade Mehmed.

Finally, the baldachin tomb of Şehzade Mehmed's granddaughter Fatma Sultan (1588-1589 CE / AH 996-997) is located ten meters to the east of Mehmed's mausoleum. This small domed square structure measures four meters to a side and is located adjacent to the eastern wall of the complex.

Also in the complex, Hatice Sultan, daughter to Sultan Murat III, Fatma Sultan, Şehzade Mehmet’s grandson, and Destari Mustafa Efendi, who was murdered in 1614, are buried.

Madrasah
It consists of 20 rooms, a bath, and eyvan, a vaulted room with one side open to a court that was used a dormitory for girls after 1950s. The Tabhane, (the hostel attached to a mosque where travelers (usually dervishes and mystics) could live free for three days), was located just like the Madrasah toward the east on the outer wall of courtyard.

This prayer room measures eleven meters to a side, and it projects five meters beyond the line of the exterior wall. The madrasa is accessible from the north via several entrances facing the Valens aqueduct, or by three central entrances along its south wall that face the mosque and mausolea within the Şehzade complex.

In the madrasah of the complex, completed between 1546 and 1547, there are 20 rooms and a classroom. The porticos were covered by glass cases while the madrasah was used as a dormitory for girls in the 1950s. The madrasa is located thirty-seven meters north of the mosque at the northwest corner of the complex. It follows a typical Ottoman organization in which twenty small cells and a second row of vaulted galleries are organized around a large rectangular central courtyard.

Overall, the madrasa measures forty-six meters wide east to west and thirty-two meters long north to south. Its regularity is broken by a square domed prayer room embedded at the center of the eastern wall. This prayer room measures eleven meters to a side, and it projects five meters beyond the line of the exterior wall. The madrasa is accessible from the north via several entrances facing the Valens aqueduct, or by three central entrances along its south wall that face the mosque and mausolea within the Sehzade complex.

The medrese of the Şehzade foundation is on the far side of the precinct, at the north-west corner. It is a handsome building of the usual form. The south side, facing the mosque precinct, has a portico but no cells. Opposite the entrance, instead of the usual dershane, is an open loggia, the lecture hall itself being in the centre of the east side; opposite, a passage between two cells leads to the lavatories.

The building has been well restored and is again in use as a residence for university students. In line with the medrese but farther east is the kervansaray, which now serves as a science laboratory for the adjacent Vefa Lisesi. This building is probably not by Sinan, though obviously contemporary, or nearly so, with the rest of the complex.

It has no door into the mosque precinct but is entered from the other side. It is L-shaped, the bottom stroke of the L consisting of a long, wide hall, its eight domes supported on three columns down its length; perpendicular to this is a block of eight cubicles with two spacious halls giving access to them. This interesting building is in good shape and makes a fine science laboratory.

Sıbyan Mektebi
The building located in the southern part of the Şehzade Complex, sometimes used as the printing house of Istanbul University, was Sıbyan Mektebi, an Ottoman elementary school. The entry porch of the school does not exist today; the window structure has been metamorphosed and the fireplace was removed when it was used as a warehouse.

Primary School
The Primary School, single - domed with a diameter of 7.5 m, measuring 9.5 x 9.5 m, is now used by the Foundation of İstanbul University Political Sciences Graduates

Daruzziyafe
There is another structure called Daruzziyafe (Restaurant, previously a soup kitchen in the 16th century) which consists of three sections and draws the attention of visitors.

Kitchen
The lodging room of the imaret (kitchen) is used as repositories of Vefa High School. The two roomed kitchens, facing a rectangular courtyard, have been devastated day by day due to the squalor and neglect. The hospice is rectangular with a large central courtyard, measuring approximately twenty-five meters wide east to west and fifty-six meters long north to south. Soup kitchen consists of kitchen, dining room, storeroom and cellar.

Tabhane
The Tabhane, (the hostel attached to a mosque where travelers (usually dervishes and mystics) could live free for three days), was located just like the Madrasah toward the east on the outer wall of courtyard. Though tabhanes were often directly attached to mosques later in Ottoman period, the tabhane at the Şehzade complex is a freestanding structure located to the east of the madrasa and north of the mosque, mausolea, and gardens.

The tabhane is composed of a series of domed chambers designed to house pious travelers during short visits to the mosque. The tabhane is subdivided into three sections; the western and central sections are identical, while the larger eastern section features a unique interior organization and an adjacent trapezoidal courtyard.

The enclosed portion of the eastern section is composed of two aisles of domed bays, each four rows deep. The sections to the west are each subdivided into thirds, with two small domed chambers to both the east and west of a larger central domed space. The tabhane measures between sixty-two and sixty-seven meters wide east to west and between thirteen and twenty-four meters long north to south.

The complex is interrupted by Dede Efendi Street to the east of the tabhane and mausolea, and though the complex's perimeter wall creates a solid boundary along the street-edge, a hospice and elementary school affiliated with the mosque were constructed directly across the narrow street.

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YAHYA EFENDİ MOSQUE

Çırağan, Beşiktaş - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°02'44.6"N 29°01'05.0"E / 41.045722, 29.018056



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Yahya Efendi shrine and its cemetery are always busy with the crowded people who are looking for right answers for their problems. Circumcised children, pregnant ladies, unmaried girls, unemployed people and so on come to Yahya Efendi shrine, tell their difficulties or problems to his sarcopgahus silenlty, pray to him in the name of Allah and ask for help then they leave with a great respect and wait the result. If their fresults come true, they come again and thank to him by praying and deliver some presents to the vistors and poor around the shrine.

It has been going on since Yahya Effendi was buried here. Yahya Effendi was one of the famous scholars of 16th century AD and he was the milk brother of famous Kanuni Sultan Süleyman. Yahya Efendi was born in Trabzon of Black Sea region in 1495 at the same time when prince Süleyman was born. Yahya Efendi and prince Süleyman were breastfed by Yahya Efendi’s mother so they became milk brothers were brough up together.

When prince Süleyman became the 10th of Ottoman empire, Yahya efendi came to Istanbul and became a famous scholar. He worked as the university dean for a long time and he was the close friend and advisor of the sultan. Before he got retired, he bought a large piece of land in Beşiktaş and established his lodge as a big complex then he began training the inhabitants of Istanbul and helping to the fishermen and poor people.

Thousands of people had attended his funeral and his lovers wanted to be buried in this cemetery to be closer to him. Therefore a big cemetery around his tomb has been arisen for centuries. The members of Ottoman dynasty, high bureaucrats such as grand viziers, state governors, sheikhs-el Islam, university teachers, tutors, soldiers, judges and so on  have been buried in their shrines and in this cemetery.

It has been restored several times because of great fires and earthquakes. During the reign of Sultan Abdülhamit II, it was restored  with some buildings and a big shrine in the courtyard where Ottoman female members-sultans- and princes were buried. The library and the fountain were also restored in late 19th century and after the republic handmade books were sent to Süleymaniye library to be kept there.

When he died in 1571 AD, Ottoman Sultan Selim II ordered architect Sinan to build a domed shrine for him and he was buried in his shrine later. Yahya Efendi has a big shrine in the middle of the cemetery where he was buried with his wife and his children. The shrine has a charming entrance with a fountain built by Sultan Abdülhamit II and before entering his shrine his lodge members gravestones are located on both sides with a nice calligraphy on.

His sarcophagus is located in the center seperated with ivory cage surronding with his family members coffins. On the left hand side of his shrine, Güzelce Ali Paşa-Handsome Ali Pasha’s shrine is situated and six marvelous marble sarcophagus with wonderful gravestones can be visited inside overlooking the Bosphorus bridge. Güzelce Ali Pasha was one of the famous Ottoman grandviziers in 18th century who was the lover of Yahya Effendi.

Yahya Efendi cemetery has more than 2500 unique and ordinary Ottoman gravestones. Sect masters’ gravestones such as Rufai, Kadiri, Mawlavi, Nakshibendi and Baktashi  with their sect headgears, sailor formed gravestones of  late Ottoman fleet captains, female gravestones with flowers and traditional symbols, the gravestones which Ottoman coat of arms were carved on and the gravestones with Fes headgears are worth seeinf after the visit of Yahya Effendi shrine. At the right hand side of the entrance, there is a big shrine where late 19th  and early 20th Ottoman dynasty members Şehzades, Sultans were buried aslo can be seen.

Except the windows on the eastern and western sides, the windows have been changed during the repairs and lost their authenticity. Other known restoration works have been in progress during Sultan Mahmut II (1808-1839) and Sultan Abdülhamit II (1876-1909). The carving inside the tomb are originally kept. Actually, there are also carvings of the 19th century on the walls.

The tomb is still one of the attraction places for people, although it has lost many of its properties during the restorations that took place during centuries. By the time, the tomb's environment has been surrounded by other timber structures of the dervish lodge and the main masonry dome was converted into another timber frame, squat dome during the repair progresses held by Pertevniyal Valide Sultan.

It is located within the Dervish Lodge established by Yahya Efendi in 1538. It has lost most of its original features due to numerous repair and restoration work over the centuries; however, it still attracts visitors' attention with its surrounding buildings and the landscape of its burial area. Also built there were a small mosque, a mansion, a school, cells, a hamam and a fountain beside the road.

Yahya Efendi Madrasa was located on a wide area in Sheik Yahya Efendi Dervish Lodge. The construction of madrasa started with small mosque, Turkish bath and fountain in 1538. New constructions were added to it in 18th century. In 19th century a large part of land of madrasa remained in the garden of Yıldız Palace and Çırağan Palace. That the name of this madrasa was not encountered in the list of madrasahs made in 1869 shows that it was pulled down before this date.

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MERKEZ EFENDİ MOSQUE

Zeytinburnu - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'57.0"N 28°55'11.0"E / 41.015833, 28.919722



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Merkezefendi Mosque dates back to 1580 and was once part of a large complex but many of the buildings have since been lost.  It was built with the assistance of Şah Sultan, a daughter of Sultan Selim II.  It underwent a complete makeover in 1837 and inside the stone exterior there is a lovely wooden interior that has a curtained mihrab painted on the back wall. Merkez Efendi was famous for his strength as well as for inventing mesir paste and having served as a doctor.

The Merkez Efendi Mosque was built on the site of a dervish lodge which had been commissioned by Süleyman the Great and built by the architect Sinan in 1517. After the death of Merkez Efendi, the mosque that bears his name was built in his memory between 1552-1572.

According to another story, the mosque’s construction began in 1580 and it opened to worshipers in 1582. Restored during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, the mosque still bears many of the features of the original.

Built on a rectangular plan, the mosque is made of stone. Its door and windows were made from round brick arches The tomb of Merkez Efendi and his family, a public fountain, a cistern to supply water to the mosque, and the çilehane are all found in the mosque’s wide courtyard.

The wooden mansion on the right used to be the harem building of the Merkezefendi complex. It has been restored and will most likely be used to hold cultural activities in the future. There are other aspects of the square that captivated us upon first sight such as its popular grilled meat restaurant, a Turkish bath waiting to be restored and some wooden mansions. Yet the cultural valley does not only comprise this square.

The beautiful Abdülbaki Paşa Library (Neyhane) can be found just outside of the gate; the mosque was originally a primary school and was then used as a storage facility until its restoration in 2007.

Today you will find a tearoom, a library and a cultural centre with lovely painted panels reworked on the domed ceiling.  Close by is a large wooden mansion the Merkezefendi Konağı or Mansion that was restored in 2009.

Tomb
The tomb of Merkez Efendi (1463-1552) is attached to the mosque and where many pilgrims still visit today. Süleyman the Great frequently visited his tomb which is located in the mosque’s courtyard.

Çilehane
Next to the tomb is a çilehane built in keeping with the beliefs and traditions of Merkez Efendi’s sect. Merkez Efendi was said to gone here to isolate himself from the world.

Cemetery
The Merkezefendi Cemetery (Turkish: Merkezefendi Mezarlığı) is a burial ground situated in Merkezefendi neighborhood of Zeytinburnu district on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey.
Many renowned intellectuals, writers and artists rest in this old cemetery covering an area of 27,800 m2 (299,000 sq ft). In 2007, the cemetery was fully renovated. Currently, burials are allowed only for the members of families with existing graves

The cemetery was established in the 16th century with the construction of the tomb of Merkez Efendi at this location. It was extended in the 1950s, and another cemetery, the Kozlu Cemetery was established 100 m (330 ft) far from this place.

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RUMİ MEHMET PASHA MOSQUE

Üsküdar - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'28.7"N 29°00'39.1"E / 41.024639, 29.010861



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The Rumi Mehmed Pasha Mosque is an old Ottoman mosque located in a large and densely populated district of Üsküdar, in Istanbul. It was built for the Grand Vizier Rum Mehmed Pasha, who was of Greek origin. The mosque combines architectural elements of Ottoman and Byzantine styles. Rumi Mehmed Pasha Mosque is located close to the Bosphorus waterfront. One of the oldest Ottoman works in Üsküdar dating back to 1466 and 1471. It was restored in 1953.

This was built on the orders of Mehmed Paşa, who was of Greek origin, the vizier of Sultan Mehmed II, Fatih the Conqueror, in 1471. It is said that there used to be a Byzantine temple here. This was the first large mosque built by the Turks in Üsküdar. There are two rooms on each sides of its winged hall. The great Sufi Aziz, Mahmud Hüdayi, stayed in one of these rooms with his wife for a period.

Rumi Mehmed Pasha became the grand vizier (Veziriazam) of Sultan Mehmed II in 1466 and held this position until 1469 when he was executed and replaced by the former grand vizier, Mahmud Pasha. His mosque is located on a hill overlooking the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side, in the district of Üsküdar. The inscriptive plaque of the mosque, composed in Arabic, dates the building to 876 (1471).

Adjoining buildings, a madrasa, baths (hamam) and a soup kitchen (imaret) were also built in the 15th century. The madrasa is no longer extant while some walls from the baths and the soup kitchen remain. The mosque quarter is still named after the grand vizier. The side hospice (tabhane) rooms, equipped with a fireplace and shelving niches, open directly into the central hall and into each other. During the restoration, plaster was removed from the walls to reveal period decoration. The madrasa is no longer extant while some walls from the baths and the soup kitchen remain. The mosque quarter is still named after the grand vizier.

The mosque is composed of a five bay porch leading into a square central hall that is extended to the south by half a bay and four rooms flanking the central hall to the east and west. The porch is covered by domes that were rebuilt during the 1953 restoration. Its marble columns are crowned by capitals that are oval in section. Passing through the muqarnas portal, two steps lead into the domed central hall.

The semi-dome at Rumi Mehmed Paşa is carried on stalactite squinches that droop down to the corners of the walls, in tune with the six rows of stalactites crowning the mihrab. The women's prayer space, found on either side of the door upon entering, is doubled in area with wooden platforms that cross the entry with a narrow balcony. The side hospice (tabhane) rooms, equipped with a fireplace and shelving niches, open directly into the central hall and into each other. During the restoration, plaster was removed from the walls to reveal period decoration.

The dome measuring 11.15 m in diameter is carried on pendentives covers the mosque's central space. The picking, round shaped column headings, which were used in the construction of last congregation gathering place, and windows extended to the dome contrary to Turkish architecture are rather interesting. The restoration of the mosque, whose end congregation portico collapsed in 1950, was started in 1953 and finished along with the domes in 1959.

To the south, the mihrab is placed in a rectangular extension of the central hall raised by a step and covered by a semi-dome. The semi-dome at Rumi Mehmed Paşa is carried on stalactite squinches that droop down to the corners of the walls, in tune with the six rows of stalactites crowning the mihrab. The women's prayer space, found on either side of the door upon entering, is doubled in area with wooden platforms that cross the entry with a narrow balcony.

While the plan, the interior decoration, and to some extent the portico, are Ottoman in style, the mosque's exterior appearance is expressively Byzantine. Where most Ottoman mosques have used polygonal drums, the dome of Rumi Mehmed Paşa Mosque sits on a circular drum, a common feature in Byzantine churches. Placed on a square base, its load is carried on arches on three sides and a semi-dome on the forth. These thick brick arches, complete with clerestory windows, culminate above the emergent roof creating a wavy effect along the cornice line.

The arched frames of the drum windows, similarly, are extended beyond the skirts of the dome. These unusual domes are covered with lead in a manner typical of Ottoman mosques. The construction of the mosque is cut stone, with rows of brick introduced the base and drum of the dome. There is a single minaret on the northwest corner; stairs leading to its single balcony are accessed from outside the mosque.

In the mosque there are two works by the famous calligraphers, Hattat Arif and Mehmed Sami. Tombstones, including that of Rumi Mehmed Paşa, can be found to the left of the courtyard. The medresse is in ruins. The street where the mosque is located has one of the most beautiful street names of Istanbul: Eşref Saati (Lucky Moment).

Near to the mosque, the Tarihî Şifa Hamamı (Historical Medical Baths) was built to create an income for the mosque. It is the oldest baths in Üskudar and is still operational. Across from the men's section there is a fountain that was built in 1729 and is named in honor of the vizier, Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Paşa, who was violently killed in the Patrona Halil Uprising. Across from the women's section is the mosque of Hüsrev Ağa, built in memory of the head footman of the palace in 1520.

The mosque is thought to have been built by a Greek master since its general appearance resembles a church. The bath nearby the mosque is considered as the oldest bath in Üsküdar. The bath, whose operating right was transferred to a person in 1860, was restored in 1885. The madrasah of the complex was removed. The mosque combines architectural elements of Ottoman and Byzantine styles.

While the plan, the interior decoration, and to some extent the portico, are Ottoman in style, the mosque's exterior appearance is expressively Byzantine. Where most Ottoman mosques have used polygonal drums, the dome of Rumi Mehmed Paşa Mosque sits on a circular drum, a common feature in Byzantine churches.

Placed on a square base, its load is carried on arches on three sides and a semi-dome on the forth. These thick brick arches, complete with clerestory windows, culminate above the emergent roof creating a wavy effect along the cornice line. The arched frames of the drum windows, similarly, are extended beyond the skirts of the dome.

These unusual domes are covered with lead in a manner typical of Ottoman mosques. The construction of the mosque is cut stone, with rows of brick introduced the base and drum of the dome. There is a single minaret on the northwest corner; stairs leading to its single balcony are accessed from outside the mosque. In the mosque there are two works by the famous calligraphers, Hattat Arif and Mehmed Sami.

Tomb
Rumi Mehmed Paşa was executed before the completion of his mosque and is buried in a separate tomb outside the western corner of the qibla wall. The tomb is an octagonal building made of ashlar stone and crowned by a dome without windows. The interior, with the single sarcophagus of the grand vizier, is lit by an upper and lower window on each side.

The tomb is an octagonal building made of ashlar stone and crowned by a dome without windows. The interior, with the single sarcophagus of the grand vizier, is lit by an upper and lower window on each side. His relatives are buried in the enclosed cemetery behind the mosque. Kufeki stone tomb of Mehmet Pasha is behind the mosque. Tombstones, including that of Rumi Mehmed Paşa, can be found to the left of the courtyard.

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KÜÇÜK AYASOFYA MADRASA

Sultanahmet, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'10.6"N 28°58'18.6"E / 41.002944, 28.971833



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Hüseyin Ağa who was the chief of palace guards in the reign of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II. Hüseyin Ağa bought the church and he added a big madrasah including 24 rooms, a shrine where he was buried , a bath, a charity kitchen some stores  later in the large courtyard of the former church.

It has a wide garden with 24 rooms in south of the edifice and in the middle there is a Madrasa built on the name of Hüseyin Ağa, the founder of the mosque. The Madrasa was restored by Yesevi Foundation and granted to the service of Turkish Handicrafts. Nearby is Kesikbaş Hüseyin Ağa Tomb.

The building was restored twice in 1836 and 1956, its various copper parts and plasters were renewed and its single minaret was repaired considerably.

Later on the madrasa, the current portico, the fountain for ablutions and the small minaret were added. We also find a small Ottoman cemetery and the tomb of Hüseyin Ağa. The complex offers craft shops, flea books market and also a coffee place.

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WEB SITE : Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Vakfı

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : info@hocaahmedyesevivakfi.com
Phone : +90 212 638 5012
Fax : +90 212 638 3547

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