NİŞANCI MEHMET PASHA MOSQUE

Nişanca, Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'26.9"N 28°56'41.7"E / 41.024139, 28.944917



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Mehmet Pasha got the Architect Davut Ağa to build the Nişancı Mehmet Pasha (Cedit Nişancı) Mosque, located on Fatih Nişanca Street, between 1584 and 1588. According to some researchers, it is considered as the final work of Sinan the Architect. One of the rare Ottoman viziers who had Turkish origins, Nişancı Mehmet Ağa designed a calligraphic seal for Sultan Murat III, which can be seen on the entrance gate.

According to the inscription above the portal, the complex was commissioned by Nişancı "marksman" Mehmet Paşa (d.1592). Although the complex is widely accepted as a Architect Sinan monument, its name doesn't appear in Sinan's Book of Buildings (Tezkiret-ül Bünyan). Given that Sinan died in 1588, the complex, whose construction began in 1584 and ended in 1589, could have been completed by one of his former assistants, the architect Davut.

Originally built as a madrasa and a dervish lodge (tekke), the complex today comprises only a mosque with a fountain courtyard and a tomb.

The mosque, a stepped structure developed from a simple square plan, is located on the southeast of the complex. A five-bay portico, facing the fountain courtyard, is attached to the northwest side of the mosque. This courtyard, with approximate dimensions of 32 by 35 meters, is located northwest of the mosque and is surrounded on three sides by a twenty-bay portico. The tomb is attached to the east corner of this courtyard.

To the northeast is a secondary courtyard wall, which turns and extends to the east corner of the mosque. This wall, together with the cemetery, encircles the tomb and forms the street edge. The complex is entered from two opposing doors; the northeastern door, located in the middle of the tomb courtyard wall, leads to the door of the fountain courtyard that falls west of the tomb. The southwestern door, facing the street, leads directly into the fountain courtyard.

Entering the fountain courtyard, one stands before the five-bay portico of the mosque, which is roofed by four domes on its side bays and a mirror vault in the central bay. The dodecagonal fountain of the complex is placed northwest of the central bay, strengthening the qibla axis. The central bay of the portico is elevated, indicating the portal into the prayer hall. This portal contains has a shallow muqarnas carving and an inscription.

Entering from this portal, the visitor has a sensation of spaciousness, an impression that contrasts with the actual dimensions of the prayer hall. This feeling is created by the unique structural and spatial configuration of the Nişancı Mehmet Paşa Mosque, where Sinan brought elements of earlier design experiments together.

The mosque is made of cut stone, and the portico is a composite stone and brick structure. The Nisanci Mehmet Pasa is mostly unadorned, excepting the modest painted ornamentation within the prayer hall. A dome 14 meters in diameter, flanked by four larger and four smaller half-domes on the sides, surmounts the central space. The load from the upper structure is distributed through the octagonal drum to eight columns embedded in the walls of the prayer hall, enhancing the unity of the interior space.

The prayer hall extends to the projected iwans found between the paired columns, creating a gradual enlargement of the interior. The marble mihrab is located in the southeastern iwan projection. The stepped character of the interior space is visible on the qibla exterior elevation, while two rectangular rooms fill the corners of the prayer hall on the entrance elevation.

Topped by mirror vaults and used as guest rooms, these rooms are directly accessed from the prayer hall. On the opposite side, the stairs embedded on the two sides of the qibla wall lead to the upper speech platforms. The upper galleries are found along the three walls of the prayer hall, leaving the qibla wall blank.

The prayer hall is lit by two rows of casement windows, which are topped by a third row of arched windows. Each of the smaller half-domes has three, the larger half-domes have five, and the main dome is pierced by 25 windows, increasing the amount of light in the prayer hall. A door in the western corner of the prayer hall leads to the single-balcony minaret.

From a distance one sees the elegance of line and the masterly arrangement of the upper structure; the great dome surrounded by the eight little weight-turrets (the continuation of the columns that support the dome arches), the eight semidomes of two sizes, and the minaret unusually close to
the dome base - an excellently proportioned distribution of curves and verticals. One enters through the usual charming courtyard, the arches of which are of the ogive type; under the porch of five bays an inscription with the tuğra of Sultan Mustafa III.

The plan of the mosque is an interesting variation of the octagon inscribed in a square. Eight partly-engaged columns support the dome arches; in the axes there are four semidomes, while in the diagonals four smaller semidomes serve as squinches instead of pendentives. The eastern semidome covers a projecting apse for the mihrab, while those to north and south also cover projections from the square. The western corners of the cross so formed are filled with small independent chambers; above on three sides are galleries.

The whole arrangement is original and masterly; nor are interesting details wanting. In the corners of the east wall are two charming little kürsüs or platforms, access to which is gained by staircases built into the thickness of the wall from the window recesses. In the voussoirs and balustrades of these platforms, in the window frames, and elsewhere throughout the mosque, an interesting conglomerate marble of pale violet and grey is used; and for the columns which support both platforms and galleries there is another conglomerate marble of tawny brown flecked with yellow, gray, black and green.

The arches of the galleries, like those of the courtyard, are of the ogive type. As a whole, the mosque is a masterpiece; it is as if the unknown architect, in the extreme old age of Sinan, had decided to play variations on themes invented by Sinan himself and to show that he could do them as well as the Master. This basic unity of design is broken however by two cloister vaults covering the entrance and its neighbouring areas. The mosque gradually narrows in zigzags along the north-south axis with the effect of enhancing the kiblah (direction of Mecca).

The eyvan shaped plan created on the ground floor with the addition of two side rooms is masterfully integrated with the latecomers' area. Moreover, the opposition thus created between the mihrab and the latecomers areas does not hinder the spatial harmony of the interior. The dome, which is not very large, is easily supported by the zigzagging walls which function as buttresses. As for the south or kiblah facade, which had remained as massive as a buttress wall in many mosques until then, Sinan finally manages to give it the liveliness and portent it deserves. All these features indicate how important a stage this mosque represents in Sinan's development.

In the little graveyard behind the mosque is the small and unpretentious türbe of Nişancı Mehmet Paşa. The tomb is an octagonal structure surmounted by a dome. It is entered though the portal on the northeast, where a three-bay portico is attached to the elevation. The portico is surmounted by an eave and is carried over four columns. Under the portico, the sides of the entrance are ornamented with mihrab niches. All sides of the tomb, except that facing west, which is embedded in the arcade of the northeastern entrance of the fountain courtyard, feature a casement window with an arched window above it.

The tomb has an 8 cornered plan scheme and covered with a dome. The entrance is covered with a roof which is supported by four columns. The main walls of tomb are made of lime stone and marble is used around windows and columns. There are two rows of windows at seven facades; the upper row has stained glass. There are ornaments and carvings on dome and interior walls. The tomb is well preserved with having most of its original details. Only known repairs are minor repairs through 20th century.

According to records, the complex was damaged in the 1766 earthquake. The inscriptions near the portal niche describe a restoration in the period of Sultan  Mustafa III (1757-1774) by Şükrullah Efendi. A later restoration of the madrasa was undertaken in 1835, in the time of Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839). The most recent restoration dates to 1958 and 1970, and was undertaken by the General Directorate of Religious Endowments.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2018, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.

ŞEYH SEYYİD MUSTAFA SELAMİ EFENDİ TEKKESİ

Nişanca, Eyüp - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°02'26.4"N 28°55'55.0"E / 41.040667, 28.931944

This lodge is located in the Nişanca neighbourhood to the south of Nazır Ağa Çeşmesi Street. It was built in 1798-99 (1213) by Sadaret Kethüdası Arabacızade İbrahim Nesim Efendi (died 1807) for the Izmir born Sheik Seyyid Mustafa Selami Efendi (died 1813), of the Nakşibendiyye order. The lodge was originally used by the Nakşibendiyye, but after the death of Sheik M. Selami Efendi it was used by the Müştakiyye branch of the Kadiriyye order between 1813-1831, and from 1831 onwards by the Rıfaiyye, although Nakşibendi thought was disseminated here until the end.

The lodge was restored at the end of the 19th century, and the main building containing the ceremonial hall-tomb and male quarters was repaired by the Religious Foundations in 1985, after which it was allocated to a cultural foundation. The ruins of the harem and kitchen sections have been abandoned to their fate. Because of the slope of the land, a support wall runs along the length of Nazır Ağa Çeşmesi Street to the north, with the buildings of the convent arrayed around the courtyard containing the fountain, which is overshadowed by this wall.

One proceeds from a raised area laid with Malta stone through the undistinguished garden gate into the courtyard, which is paved with the same stone. The lintel of the courtyard gate, surrounded by brick columns, contains marble panels with clearly discernable sülüs script containing on the outer surface the declaration of God’s unity, and on the inner surface the names of the founders of the Nakşibendi sect. The small-scale goblet shaped ablutions fountain of marble in the center of the courtyard is of an interesting style.

It carries an inscription dated 1228 (1813) belonging to the poet Razi in the name of the founder and with the phrase “tekye-i darüsselam” (Convent of the Dominion of Islam). The main building is an L-shaped block, of which the 23 meter wing to the south contains the ceremonial hall-tomb, and that to the east contains the male quarters. It consists of a brick basement floor and a wooden floor that is slightly above the level of the courtyard.

The 7.5 x 6 m area allocated to sufi ritual in the ceremonial hall-tomb section is flanked to the south by the external wall, and to the west and north by twostoried L-shaped galleries, while the tomb area is located to the east on the same level as the galleries. Decorative molded railings front the men’s galleries and the tomb, while grills rise to the roof from a low parapet in front of the women’s section.

The northeastern and northwestern corners of the ceremonial area are rounded to soften their appearance, and the whole area is enclosed with eight octagonal columns on which are supported the upper level of galleries allocated to the women. Broad (false) arches of wood have been fitted between the columns, and the corners of the large opening to the north have been fitted with curved semi-arches. The northern wall of the ceremonial halltomb over the courtyard contains a door to the ceremonial hall with a window to either side, along with a larger prayer window at the level of the tomb.

The southern wall contains an entrance to the ceremonial hall, the mihrap and a window beside each of these. The mihrap alcove is semicircular on the interior and semihexagonal on the exterior and is framed with a wooden molding, crowned by a rounded arch. In the northeastern corner of the ceremonial hall is an anteroom containing the stairs to the women’s upper galleries and a small service window, a visiting area to the east of the tomb, and an area for serving sherbet.

There are two adjacent spaces in the basement floor of the ceremonial hall-tomb. To the west below the ceremonial hall is what was presumably a storehouse, and to the east below the tomb are the graves of Sheik Selami Efendi and his successors. The ground floor of the male quarters consist of two rectangular anterooms joined by a glass section with doors to form a T-shape, and various other rooms of the quarters organized around these. The anteroom on the east-west axis contains stairs to the basement.

It is thought that the low-ceilinged rooms in the basement floor, some containing closets for bedding, could have been used for sitting, conversing, eating and sleeping, as the need arose. The façades and ceilings of the main building display features of 19th century wooden houses of Istanbul and reflect the tastes of that era. The ceilings were executed using the “çubuklu” or rod method. However the ceiling roses of the ceremonial hall, tomb and visiting area are exceedingly simple, consisting of two interconnected squares.

The three-storied harem shares the same materials and construction features as the main building, with “two-sided” anterooms and symmetrically connected rooms. In the kitchen situated
in the northwestern corner of the harem, the long chimney, on the verge of collapse, only survives by being propped against the outer support wall. The small graveyard is in the back garden of the harem.

The unity of the ceremonial hall and the tomb which can be seen in his lodge, whose outward similarity to a wooden mansion of the last century and architectural details make it a typical example of late period Istanbul convent architecture, is an unique and ancient practice in the buildings of sufi orders. The most interesting architectural aspect of the Sheik Selami Efendi Lodge arises in relation not to its status as a religious building but from a feature of Anatolian Turkish architecture that it displays; that is the continued use at the end of the 19th century of the crypt vault style, which was largely abandoned as a technique in the early Ottoman era, albeit with a completely different appearance.

In summary, as with tombs and gravestones, it is possible to determine the developments in Ottoman architecture with regard to religious structures and their typology from the middle of the 15th century until 1925 by examining the buildings of religious order in Eyüp Sultan alone. Sadly, it cannot by any means be claimed that these treasures of Eyüp Sultan have been protected and valued as they should have been.

As was touched on at the beginning, not many of the dervish lodges of Eyüp Sultan have survived until the present day, and not much is known of the architectural features of those that have disappeared. None of those that have survived have done so architecturally intact; in other words all of the complexes that survive today are missing some of their original structures.

Of these, the buildings discussed in group II above that operated as both mosque and lodge generally continued to have their ceremonial hall used as a mosque after 1925, but the other sections went out of use (male quarters, harem, kitchen etc) and went to ruin over time or were altered for other purposes. The same is true for some of the complex plan lodges that we discussed in group III above. Some of those buildings that did manage to survive have been restored in recent years by foundations and put to cultural use.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



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

BABA HAYDAR TEKKESİ

Nişanca, Eyüp - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°02'31.2"N 28°56'01.1"E / 41.042000, 28.933639



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

This lodge is located in the Düğmeciler neighbourhood at the junction of Haydar Baba Street and Baba Haydar Camii Street. It was built as a masjid-lodge by Süleyman the Magnificant in the second quarter of the 16th century in the name of the Nakşibendi sheik Baba Haydar Semerkandi (died 1550). During the reign of Sultan Mustafa III (1757-1774) it was converted into a mosque by the addition of a pulpit thanks to the imam of the Arpacılar Mescidi in Eyüp Sultan.

This lodge was constructed on a site falling steeply toward the Golden Horn from Nişancı Hill, and has managed to preserve its unique architecture to a significant degree. Due to the slope the site was surrounded with supporting walls and the courtyard is entered from both streets via steps. The mosque-ceremonial hall consists of an inner sanctuary delimited by walls of rough stone and an enclosed porch made of wood.

Both sections are rectangular with a hipped roof covered with lead, and the entrances to both are on the northern wall. The northern (courtyard) façade of the porch ends with a wide overhang supported by diagonal wooden supports. This detail gives the building a civil architectural feel and the spiked overhang and brick walls of the inner sanctuary make an interesting impression. The top of the porch was used as a gallery, and both stories have rectangular outwardly opening windows.

Contrary to this the windows of the inner section’s façades are of the classic design of the Şeyhülislam Tekke’s masjid-ceremonial hall. Of the ornamentation, the domed woven box of the classic style mihrab and the “Sultan Mahmud sun” ceiling rose in the middle of the wooden sanctuary ceiling, highly likely to date from the second quarter of the 19th century, are worthy of note. The square base of the minaret rising from the northwestern corner of the inner sanctuary, with its alternating brickwork and diamond-patterned base have survived from the original building.

The gallery of the minaret however, with its cylindrical body and simple metal railings, must be a later repair job. The lodge units that should be located around the courtyard have disappeared. At the end of the stairs following the eastern entrance to the courtyard, in the left wall of the graveyard (facing south) is a prayer window opening onto the grave of Baba Haydar Semerkandi.

Another building type that can be considered as part of this group (or as a subset of it) are those where the tomb containing the grave of the lodge sheik has been combined with the mosque-ceremonial hall, sometimes being connected by a door or window, and sometimes having the intervening wall removed and being merged with the place of worship.

In this type of building, the respect and closeness felt by the sect for their founding fathers is reflected in the design6, and by departing to some extent from the set formats for mosques and masjids, a characteristic peculiar to dervish buildings is created.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



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

ŞEYHÜLİSLAM SEYYİD MUSTAFA EFENDİ TEKKESİ

Nişanca, Eyüp - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°02'34.1"N 28°55'58.5"E / 41.042806, 28.932917



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

This is situated in the Düğmeciler (Buttonmakers) neighbourhood of the Nişancı (Nişanca) district, bordered to the south and west by Baba Haydar Mektebi Street, to the north by Haydar Çeşmesi Street and to the east by Balcı Hill. This tekke (lodge) was connected to the Nakşibendi sect and is one of the most impressive dervish lodges of Istanbul. It was built in 1744-45 (1157 in the Muslim calendar) by Feyzullah Efendizade Şeyhülislam Seyyid Mustafa Efendi (died 1745), and has survived until this day with only a few minor changes.

The son of the founder, Kazasker Seyyid Abdullah Efendi (died 1767), added a small mosque-ceremonial hall and a pulpit, and a wooden harem building that was reconstructed in the 19th century but that no longer exists today. During the Republican era the building fell into disrepair, until the mosque-ceremonial hall and the main building containing the dervish cells were restored in the 1970s by the Religious Foundations.

However, since the building was not given a new function these were again abandoned to their fate, with squatters taking up residence and causing considerable damage to the building. Because the site slopes down towards the Golden Horn to the east, the buildings are constructed on two levels, the higher level containing the main building, the kitchen to the southwest and the hamam and toilets to the northwest, while the lower level contains the hamam building and a small graveyard.

On the higher level, the main gate adjacent to the Beyzade Mehmet Efendi Çeşmesi, dating from 1646 (1056), and opening onto Haydar Çeşmesi Street is constructed of cut sandstone, and its low arch contains an inscription in verse belonging to Katipzade Mehmed Ref’i Efendi (in Persian script) and giving the construction date of the lodge. The main building of the lodge, which holds its most important sections, measures 32.5 x 27.75 m. Its walls consist of single rows of cut sandstone alternating with double rows of red brick.

Over the low arched entrance located in the northern façade is an inscription in verse, the poetry belonging to Kazasker Mirzazade Neyli Ahmed Efendi (died 1748) and the calligraphy to Şeyhülislam Veliyeddin Efendi (died 1767). All of the units that make up the structure are arranged around a rectangular open-air inner courtyard (15 x 11 m), fronted by a twentyfour sectioned portico. The pointed arches of the portico are carved from marble and are supported by marble columns with muqainas capitals.

Some sections of the portico are domed, some vaulted, and all are covered with lead and crowned with marble crescents. To the south of the courtyard, on the symmetrical axis, is the mosque-ceremonial hall with a octagonal prism shaped body-crowned by dome, and connected to this what must have been the apartment used for the solitary confinement of novices and a room for the serving of fruit drinks, along with two dervish cells. There are five dervish cells on each of the east and west wings.

The windows on the walls of the mosque-ceremonial hall, which project horizontally and vertically beyond the main block of the building, conform with classical Ottoman requirements; being arranged in a double row, the lower row rectangular with cut stone frames topped with pointed arches of brick and metal railings, and the upper row again with pointed arches has been filled in with plastered windows. In addition, a small plastered window with pointed arches has been opened on each corner of the octagonal dome.

Some of the dervish cells are square and domed, others rectangular and vaulted, but each have a door and window opening onto the portico, along with two windows opening to the outside. Between the cells on the west wing is a corridor with five vaults that connected the service units on that side (the kitchen, hamam and toilets) with the main building, which opens with a low arch onto the portico and the outside.

An octagonal marble water fountain is located in the middle of the courtyard, its sides decorated with broken curved arches, rosettes and cypress motifs. In the southern and western walls is the low vaulted kitchen, with its huge oven, built in haphazard alternating rows of rough sandstone and brick and covered over with paneled vaults. The same type of wall was used for the small hamam and the adjacent rows of toilets, which were gable roofed. It is known that the harem was a two-storied wooden building situated on an alternately laid base.

There is an undated inscription over the low arch of the graveyard, which is surrounded by walls with rectangular opening windows fronted by railings. The decorations of the fountain, decorated capitals of the pillars and the pointed arches of the Şeyhülislam Tekkesi all show that at the time of its construction during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I (1730-1754) classical Ottoman forms continued to take precedence over Baroque architecture. As is well known, the complex of Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa, dating from 1734-35 (1147), is generally accepted as the last classic building.

In fact the Şeyhülislam Tekkesi dating from 1744-45 (1157) represents the true turning point in our architectural history. The buildings considered to be Group II buildings are establishments that served a double function, in the nature of mosque-cum-lodge or masjid-cum-lodge. This type of building was widespread throughout the Ottoman Empire, one the one hand providing a mosque for the use of the local community and on the other hand serving as the tekke or lodge for a particular order.

The mosque section, when not in use for prayer, served as the ceremonial hall of the sect used for ceremonies led by the sheik, who usually also served as the imam (prayer leader). Some of these were planned for double function use, and the charters of their foundations were drafted accordingly, while others were designed to function as mosques only to begin with, and later became the centers of sufi orders during the Ottoman era, when additions were made to their charters and to their architectural structures under the process termed "vaz-ı meşihat" (the awarding of a sheikdom).

The roots of these organizations stretched back for centuries to a time when Sufism was not organized into orders and separate sect structures did not exist, so that mosques were used for gatherings of Sufis and for their ceremonies. In most such examples, which form small complexes with scattered dwellings, the mosque-ceremonial hall section is built of brick or stone and roofed with wood according to classic Ottoman mosque architecture.

These sections were designed independently, and generally had tombs or a small graveyard located to the east, west and south, while the other buildings required by the order (meeting place, dervish cells, kitchen, etc.), apart from the harem building, were positioned around the fountain to the north of the mosque-ceremonial hall in a haphazard manner, and the harem was isolated from the fountain courtyard with its own garden (the harem garden).

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



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