HÜSEYİN AĞA MOSQUE

Taksim, Beyoğlu - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°02'06.0"N 28°58'50.1"E / 41.035000, 28.980583



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Start down Istiklal Caddesi and go as far as the stone wall on the right behind which is a small mosque. This is the Hüseyin Ağa Mosque, never very noticeable except on Fridays at noon prayer time. Then the worshipers fill the he mosque to capacity and spill out onto the street. Many of the men who come to pray have shops near the small mosque and little time to spend to go further afield.

The Hüseyin Ağa Mosque, which dates back to the end of the 16th century is a sweet little place with its Kütahya tiles, calligraphy, colored glass windows and floors covered with İsparta rugs. It will look even better when the long-awaited restoration project is completed.

But as for who Galatasaray Ağası Şeyhülharem Hüseyin Ağa - who had the mosque built, probably in 1596 (1005 A.H.), although it might actually have been built in 1591 or 1594 - was, there is no agreement.

Beyoğlu attracted foreigners, as the old embassies - now consulates - along Istiklal Caddesi attest. There were also numerous Christian churches of one denomination or another, but Ağa Camii is the only Muslim mosque along the entire length of the street and that is perhaps why it was built. The Taksim area in 1596 would still have been sparsely inhabited, open countryside.

Hüseyin Ağa, the mosque’s builder, held two prominent positions during his lifetime. Although he was a eunuch, he was appointed the Sheikh-ul-Harem in the second half of the 16th century. The Ottomans gained control over Mecca and Medina with the conquest of Egypt in 1517, but they were so engaged with war in the Balkans and with the Safavid Persians that they seem to have done little with the two cities until the 1580s. In 1582, the architect Mehmed Ağa renovated the courtyard around the Ka’bah, and in 1585 further renovations were made.

This was the first time that a large-scale Muslim settlement was built outside of old Istanbul. The place included a mosque, medrese (school), barracks and kitchens. The curriculum included manners and the art of conversing, reading, writing prose and poetry and various military accomplishments such as horsemanship, archery and lance-throwing. Arabic and Persian were taught, and how to compose and perform musical pieces.

Hüseyin Ağa had been a kadi (judge) in Medina before becoming the Sheikh ul-Harem. As the latter he was one of the most important people in the area and was responsible for disciplining the other Ağas and looking after any legal claims that might be made against these eunuchs. Of his other responsibilities, he would receive ten gold pieces from official funds every year to pay for the pilgrimage and supervise the people of Medina.

In 1585, for instance, the funds were late and the Sheikh ul-Harem lodged an official complaint over the matter. This official took it upon himself to confiscate a grain shipment that had arrived at Yanbu port and distributed it among the people of Medina. The need for such an official was the result of having no governor (vali) appointed for Medina. The Sheikh ul-Harem also undertook such duties as seeing that wages were paid, repairing water systems, settling disputes and submitting reports to Istanbul on how grain donations were handled.

From Medina, Hüseyin Ağa was made the head of the palace educational institution where Galatasaray Lycee now stands. According to the legend, Sultan Bayezid II (r. 1481-1521) was hunting and stopped for a drink of water. When he asked that person if he had a wish, the latter wanted an institution of learning built there.

The Ottomans had instituted a levy on young Christian boys from villages and educated them. These would subsequently be assigned positions within the imperial palace or with the Janissary military corps after successively completing their lessons and becoming Muslims. But space at Topkapı Palace was limited, so the lower grades were moved elsewhere. The principal school offering these lower grades was Galatasaray, which had been set up by Sultan Selim I (r. 1512-20), the son of Sultan Bayezid II.

Hüseyin Ağa was undoubtedly a product of this system, so he would know the school at Galatasaray well, and it would not have been surprising to see him appointed rector. He would have been educated among the white eunuchs who controlled the harem at Topkapı Palace and the outer service. He possibly was a protege of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who was the grand vizier of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman I between 1565 and 1579 and who was responsible for the Ottoman conquest of Yemen in 1571.

In 1595, the white eunuchs in the palace were replaced by the black eunuchs at the time that Sultan Mehmed III (r. 1595-1603) ascended the throne and Safiye Sultan became the Valide Sultan (Sultan Mother). The black eunuchs were considered more reliable around the harem women than the white eunuchs.

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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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PALAZZO CORPI

Beyoğlu - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'49.6"N 28°58'24.0"E / 41.030450, 28.973335



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In the year 1830, a young Genoese shipowner named Ignazio Corpi established himself at Constantinople with his mother, sister and one or more brothers. Signor Corpi and his family prospered, becoming prominent in local charitable activities on behalf of indigent and elderly Latin Catholics. The Corpis were instrumental in building the local Italian hospital, which functions to this day. In 1873, Signor Corpi called the architect Giacomo Leoni from Italy, and charged him with building a palatial residence that would bear the Corpi family’s name.

Georgio Stampa, another architect, who worked on the British and Persian embassies and other important buildings in Constantinople at that time, apparently also took part in Palazzo Corpi’s construction. Most of the building materials were imported from Italy - doors and window frames of rosewood from Piemonte, and marble flooring and facings from Carrara. The ground-floor reception hall was remarkable for the beauty of frescoes representing mythological scenes, while frescoes over the grand stairway and Great Hall upstairs represented Bacchic and other classical subjects.

To the magnificent frescoes were added finely etched glasswork, inlaid parquet floors, elegant fireplaces and other exquisite artistic/architectural features too numerous to mention. All the frescoes were executed by Italian artists brought to Constantinople by the architect Leoni. Sadly, during a "renovation" in 1937, the walls and ceilings on the ground floor were plastered and/or painted over.

Left untouched on the ceiling of the upstairs Great Hall, but vulnerable to annual accumulations of Istanbul grime, were depictions of Diana, Neptune, eight Muses, various Graces, Bacchantes and other mythological figures. These decorations remained largely hidden until 1992, when a series of expert restorations undertaken by post management with the cooperation of Turkish artisans and the Department’s Office of Overseas Buildings Operations gradually returned them to their original splendor.

It is recorded that Palazzo Corpi’s construction, which spanned the entire decade of the 1870s. The building was barely finished when Ignazio Corpi died, and the Palazzo was inherited by his nephews, who rented it to the American government starting in 1882. The circumstances under which the U.S. government assumed outright possession of Palazzo Corpi in 1907 make a fascinating and dramatic story in its own right.

Palazzo Corpi is an Italianate villa constructed in the 1870s in the historic Beyoğlu district of what was then the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The U.S. government leased the villa as alegation facility and residence and then purchased it from the Corpi family in 1906 for use as the embassy and official residence of the U.S. ambassador. With the move of the embassy to the new capital city, Ankara, in 1937, the villa became the U.S. Consulate General until its relocation to a new facility in 2003.

As one of the first real estate purchases by the U.S. government to house a diplomatic mission, the building is unquestionably imbued with history. That is why in 2004 the U.S. Congress required the government to maintain ownership of the property even after relocation of the consulate general. The site symbolizes the U.S.-Turkey relationship, from the fall of the Ottoman Empire and founding of the new republic to Turkey’s accession to NATO.

The preservation of the palazzo presented planners from the State Department’s Office of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) with a challenge and an opportunity. Responding to the congressional mandate, OBO signed a 51-year lease with a development company in 2008 to restore and expand the complex as a luxury hotel. Once completed, the project will include more than 160,000 square feet of internal space and house a hotel with 84 rooms, conference facilities, a club bar and two restaurants.

SOHO HOUSE ISTANBUL

In its work, the development company preserved historic details of the palazzo, which is protected under Turkish historic preservation laws. Experts worked for months to restore and renew such unique characteristics as the hand-painted scenes on its ceilings and walls, and its intricate plaster moldings and woodwork.

Two other historic structures on the site, the former chancery and annex, are also being repurposed. The annex was built as an apartment building during the same era and was later the home of the "Constantinople Club" until it was purchased by the U.S. in 1949 as consulate office space. It will now house the hotel’s suites and a café.

The chancery, an extension of the palazzo built in 1910, was designed by a Washington, D.C., architect who also designed the Washington, D.C., mansion that became the Turkish Embassy in 1932. It is now the residence of the Turkish ambassador.

The developers worked closely with OBO’s Architectural Design branch and the Cultural Heritage Program and Consulate General Istanbul, coordination that has allowed the CG Istanbul management team and front office to follow the work closely.

The latest outpost of Soho House, in Palazzo Corpi, has history in spades. Built by a Genoese shipping magnate with a penchant for Carrara marble floors and Italian rosewood, the palazzo served as the US embassy until its all-too-ostentatious location forced its move to safer suburbs in 2003.

Open since spring 2015, the palazzo’s renovated refinement pans from original frescoes to 1,000-crystal chandeliers. Contemporary accoutrements include a private hammam and a rooftop splashpool (watch the Golden Horn sunset as you cool off). However, Soho House is far from cheap, but even the budget-conscious might wish to splash out for a night in a room with Ottoman-inspired art-deco furnishings.

The club has 87 bedrooms, Drawing Room, Games Room, Dining Room, Club Bar, Embassy Club, Pantry Kitchen, Mandolin Terrace, Cecconi’s, Cowshed Active, Cowshed Relax with two hamam rooms and a 57-seat Screening Room

ROOM
87 ROOMS
OF VARIOUS SIZES, INCLUDING 17 MEZZANINE ROOMS AND ONE APARTMENT

Tinny Room : Intimate and cosy, our Tiny rooms are 26 sqm and have king-size beds
Small Room : Measuring 27 – 30 sqm, our Small rooms have super king-size beds
Medium Room : Our spacious 40 – 47 sqm bedrooms feature super king-size beds
Medium Plus : Measuring 45 – 55 sqm, our Medium Plus rooms have super king-size beds
Small Mezzanine Room : Our 34 – 44 sqm Small Mezzanine rooms are set over two floors in the historic Annex building, offering king-size beds
Medium Mezzanine Room : Over two floors in the historic Annex building, our 49 – 68 sqm Medium Mezzanine rooms feature king-size beds
Large Mezzanine Room : Measuring 72-82 sqm, and set over two floors in the historic Annex building, Large Mezzanine rooms feature super king-size beds
Playroom : Our 83 sqm Playroom in the historic Annex building has double-height ceilings, a super king-size bed

THE APARTMENT
A VAST MODERN SPACE FOR LONG AND SHORT TERM LETS
A vast 282 sqm modern space including a 129 sqm terrace available to hire for short- to long-term lets. Offering a super king-size bed, walk-in rainforest shower and bathtub, fully integrated kitchen and bar, dining table seating 10, living space, a large terrace with a Jacuzzi and a BBQ, the Apartment is the perfect base to lodge, live and entertain in Istanbul.

FOOD AND DRINK

The Allis Istanbul
Housed in the Glass Building, the Allis Istanbul serves light breakfasts and lunches, mezzes in the evening and Afternoon Tea from 3-6 pm, as well as coffee, fresh juices and craft cocktails. The lunch and dinner menu changes daily. Open all day to the general public, this lounge and bar with outdoor seating and views of the Palazzo Corpi, is a relaxed and sociable place for meetings, a quick bite to eat or late-night cocktails.

Cecconi's Istanbul
In the courtyard of the 19th century Palazzo Corpi Building, Cecconi’s is a modern day classic Italian restaurant open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Brunch is served on Sunday. Tables are available indoors or outdoors, set among the garden’s olive trees.

The Cowshed Spa and hammam are where members and non-members can relax and unwind. Again, members enjoy a discount on all treatments here as well. Neville inside the spa offers ‘British grooming for gents’ from haircuts to beard shaping, and if that is not enough you can treat yourself to everything from pedicures and facials to massages and hammam packages, all performed applying Cowshed cosmetic products.

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WEB SITE : Soho House İstanbul

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : membership@sohohouse.com
Phone : +90 212 377 71 00

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TOPKAPI PALACE MUSEUM / KITCHENS

Sultanahmet, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'42.2"N 28°59'04.0"E / 41.011722, 28.984432

Second Courtyard



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Palace Kitchen can be entered through the three doors on the second yard’s porticos. First door is Kiler-i Amire Kapısı. The one in the middle is Has Mutfak Kapısı. The last and most near one of the doors to Bab-üs-Saade is Helvahane Kapısı. Mutfaklar is a street like other service units; introvert and independent. There; instead of yard; there is a long service path with fringes on both sides. The kitchens included dormitories, baths and a mosque for the employees, most of which have disappeared over time.

The Palace Kitchens also referred to as the Main Kitchen (Mâtbah-ı Âmire) serving the Sultan, the people of the Enderûn and the Harem open onto the Second Courtyard through the doors of the Main Pantry (Kiler-i Âmire), the Privy Kitchen (Has Mutfak) and the kitchen section where desserts and candies were made, the Helvahâne which are situated in the rear of the cloisters.

The elongated Palace Kitchens (Saray Mutfakları) are a prominent feature of the palace. Some of the kitchens were first built in the 15th century at the time when the palace was constructed. They were modeled on the kitchens of the Sultan's palace at Edirne. They were enlarged during the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent but burned down in 1574. The kitchens were remodeled and brought up to date according to the needs of the day by the court architect Mimar Sinan.

The kitchens consisting of ten sections were built in the 15th century and developed and enlarged during the 16th century under the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. They were restored after the fire of 1574 by Chief Architect Mimar Sinan. The low-domed structures located to the south of the kitchens date from the 15th century. The walls are built of stone and the covering system is made of brick.

Rebuilt to the old plan by Sinan, they form two rows of twenty wide chimneys (added by Sinan), rising like stacks from a ship from domes on octagonal drums. The kitchens are arranged on an internal street stretching between the Second Courtyard and the Sea of Marmara. The entrance to this section is through the three doors in the portico of the Second Courtyard: the Imperial commissariat (lower kitchen) door, imperial kitchen door and the confectionery kitchen door.

The palace kitchens consist of ten domed buildings: Imperial kitchen, Enderun (palace school), Harem (women’s quarters), Birun (outer service section of the palace), kitchens, beverages kitchen, confectionery kitchen, creamery, storerooms and rooms for the cooks. They were the largest kitchens in the Ottoman Empire. The meals for the Sultan, the residents of the Harem, Enderun and Birun (the inner and outer services of the palace) were prepared here.

Located in the Divan Courtyard of the palace on the sea aspect of the site. These were built by Mimar Sinan to replace the earlier kitchens. Viewed from the sea side the kitchens 172 meters in length, form a distinctive line of the palace silhouette. Comprising of 10 sections each roofed by 10 domes, the chimneys over the domes give them a distinct and beautiful line. Providing meals for thousands of people daily, the kitchens' cooks cooked separately for the Sultan, his mother, and the ladies of the Harem as well as for other officials of the palace.

These kitchens having ten rooms, was cooking meal for Birun and Enderûn. Mutfak personnel, used to prepare rich fast meals for Ulufe and Festivals. Mutfaklar beginning from the south; was reserved for the palace dwellers and workers,in turn. The first one was the Sultan’s kitchen and was cooking various kinds of foods for one person. Serçini, the chef, was preparing food for the Sultan with other twelve skilled cook. Serçini was responsible for the porcelain dinner sets which are used for the Sultan and delegates reception.

For the kitchens of the palace, from the different places of the empire; qualified material, alive animals, fruits and vegetables and spices used to be provided. Matbah-ı Amire Emini who is responsible for the kitchens, was having a high rank which is close to viziership. Kitchens used to hold a good amount of employees. And Helvacıbaşı was leading the service together with a crowded stuff of people when preparing the deserts. All the dismissals and appointments of all these stuff whom works under directive of Kilercibaşı in Enderun, was managed by him.

These places’ present day use is like that; upon entering the Kiler-i Amire Kapısı, Vekilharç Dairesi which is at the right hand side; being restored; serves as Museum Workshops. Photography Workshop and Textiles Conservation Workshop is also situated in this building. After restorations, Kiler and Yağhane binası functions as Museum Palace Archive. Aşçılar Mescidi with its two floors, beside the oil house structure, is still conserved, but not allowed for visits.

Placed on three sides of an elongated inner courtyard are the Sherbet and Jam Room (Şerbethane / reçelhane), the Dessert and Candy Room (Helvahane), the kitchens proper, the prayer facility for the kitchen chefs and cooks, the oil house, the pantry which is used today as palace archives, and located across from those is the ward for the chefs and cooks. The Palace Kitchens were also serving food to the high state officials, members of the Imperial Council in session and various other groups forming part of the Palace hierarchy.

The 18th century built Mosque of the Cooks is endowed with a wooden loge. The wooden porches of the kitchens’ service roads and the wooden ward structures have been removed in the framework of the 1920 renovations.

The elongated palace kitchens (Saray Mutfakları) are a prominent feature of the palace. Some of the kitchens were first built in the 15th century at the time when the palace was constructed. They were modeled on the kitchens of Edirne Palace. They were enlarged during the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent but burned down in 1574. The kitchens were remodeled and brought up to date according to the needs of the day by the court architect Mimar Sinan.

Rebuilt to the old plan by Sinan, they form two rows of 20 wide chimneys (added by Sinan), rising like stacks from a ship from domes on octagonal drums. The kitchens are arranged on an internal street stretching between the Second Courtyard and the Sea of Marmara. The entrance to this section is through the three doors in the portico of the Second Courtyard: the Imperial commissariat (lower kitchen) door, imperial kitchen door and the confectionery kitchen door.

The palace kitchens consist of 10 domed buildings: Imperial kitchen, (palace school), Harem (women’s quarters), Birûn (outer service section of the palace), kitchens, beverages kitchen, confectionery kitchen, creamery, storerooms and rooms for the cooks. They were the largest kitchens in the Ottoman Empire.

The meals for the Sultan, the residents of the Harem, Enderûn and Birûn (the inner and outer services of the palace) were prepared here. Food was prepared for about 4,000 people. The kitchen staff consisted of more than 800 people, rising to 1,000 on religious holidays. As many as 6,000 meals a day could be prepared. Even the serving of food to the sultan was strictly regulated by protocol.

HELVAHANE

PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

The "Helvahane" (kitchen for the preparation of desserts), which is a small building neighbouring the court kitchen, has 4 domes and dates from the reign of Sultan Süleyman I, being built by the famous architect Sinan. Its present apperance is the result of its restoration in 1945. In the first room, entering from outside, are displayed the old bronze and copper kitchen utensils of the helvahane, in which various desserts were prepared.

Here can be seen cauldrons and pots in gigantic sizes, as well as marvellous gold and silver-plated jugs, mugs and other items. The dorms of the helvacı, cook and tablakar’s, is being used as exhibition hall of the museum. The building which is built by the dorm of cooks, used to be exhibiting crystals, European porcelains and silvers. Apart from exhibiting kitchen utensils, today the buildings contain a silver gifts and utensils collection, as well as large collections of Chinese blue-and-white, white, and celadon porcelain.

The Dessert and Candy Room (Helvahane), dating from the time of Süleyman the Magnificent, has four sections. There is a foundation inscription dated 1767 to the right of the entrance, and a fountain. This fountain and the Kelime-i Tevhid (The Word of Unity: Islamic declaration of faith in the oneness of God) inscription on the door are believed to date from the repairs carried out ulterior to 1574.

One accedes from the Dessert and Candy Room (Helvahane) into the Sherbet & Jam Room (Şerbethane / reçelhane) situated on the short edge of the courtyard. There is an inscription on this gate regarding a repair work conducted at the structure, mentioning Hadji Mehmet Agha's name and the date of 1699.  The doors in kündekâri style, i.e. made of wood carvings with geometrically designed motifs and the concatenated Iznik tiles belong to the same period.

The dorms of the helvacı, cook and tablakar’s, is being used as exhibition hall of the museum. The building which is built by the dorm of cooks, used to be exhibiting crystals, European porcelains and silvers. In the opposite site, the kitchens are transformed into separate exhibition saloons and exhibiting Chinese and Japanese porcelains.

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.

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.