YENİ (CEDİT) VALİDE MOSQUE

Üsküdar - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'28.8"N 29°00'55.2"E / 41.024667, 29.015333



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The Yeni Valide Mosque is an Ottoman mosque in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul. Designed by Kayserili Mehmed Ağa, the chief architect of the palace, this mosque was built in 1710 on the decree of Sultan Ahmet III in memory of his mother, Emetullah Rabi'a Gülnış Sultan. It consists of a group of buildings, including a soup kitchen, a mausoleum, fountains, a clock room, a chamber for the Sultans, a market, etc. The social complex, bearing the touch of Classical Ottoman architecture, constitutes one of the female attributes of Üsküdar.

The complex was composed of a mosque in the center and a madrasah parallel to the mosque sharing the same courtyard, a dervish lodge that is on the left side of the mosque on the same street, a primary school, an imaret (soup kitchen), a caravansary, printing house, a school for Quran reciters, a Turkish Bath and a Daruşşifa, which was designed as a full-scale hospital. The treatment and needs of the patients admitted to the darüşşifa were funded by revenues from the land properties donated by Nurbanu Sultan.

Construction on this mosque began in 1708, and was completed in 1711, when the mosque first opened for prayers. The Yeni Valide Mosque is also known as the Valide-i Cedid. The main part of the building is square in shape and covered with a flattened main dome and four half domes. Calligraphy inside the mosque is the work of Hezarfen Mehmet Efendi.

This mosque boasts two minarets with two galleries apiece, as well as a notably serene courtyard, access to which can be found via five different gates. As the benefactor of this historic mosque, the Valide Sultan lies in her tomb - which itself is reminiscent of a paradisiacal garden - in the courtyard of the mosque. When you finally come to see this mosque, you might hear writer Yahya Kemal whisper in your ears, “As the years pass by, İstanbul, appears to have depth not just through land but through history.”

The clock room is to the right of the graveyard. This room has three walls and three windows, and it is the place where prayer times were determined for the mosques in Üsküdar. There are four birdhouses built into the walls of the mosque. In particular, the birdhouse consisting of three domes and two minarets that protudes on the upper walls, facing the stone bier, is a masterpiece of Turkish stonework.

Located on Hakimiyet-i Milliyet Street, the octagon mausoleum of white marble was designed in 1708-1711 by Mehmet Ağa, the chief architect of Tulip Era, in the form of a bird cage; Gülnüş Vâlide Sultan had wished for an open-air tomb. Near to the tomb there is a building where drinking water was served in cups as a form of charity. Above its windows there is an epitaph belonging to the famous Divan poet Naima.

Across from the Balaban gate of the mosque, to the left of the soup kitchens, is the Sineperver Vâlide Sultan fountain, built on the orders of the second wife of Sultan Abdülhamid I in memory of his dead son, Şehzade Ahmed. The fountain is in the Turkish Baroque style. Next to the soup kitchen, there is a market consisting of twelve shops, that are located both on the left and the right. It was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1794. Only a small part of it and the fountain have survived.

It was one of the last big complexes to go up in the city in the days when mosques formed the centerpieces in networks of social facilities, including schools and hospitals, known as külliyes. The mosque itself has been restored recently and is well worth a look, as is the Yeni Valide Camii, mere steps away across another busy road. If you leave the Yeni Valide Camii on the sea-facing side, you will emerge opposite the newly restored Cedid Valide İmareti (soup kitchen), with its twin domes and a very pretty corner fountain.

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ESKİ İMARET MOSQUE

Zeyrek, Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'18.0"N 28°57'18.0"E / 41.021667, 28.955000



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Eski Imaret Mosque (Turkish: Eski Imaret Camii) is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. The church has traditionally been identified with that belonging to the Monastery of Christ Pantepoptes. It is the only documented 11th-century church in Istanbul which survives intact, and represents a key monument of middle Byzantine architecture. Despite that, the building remains one among the least studied of the city.

The building lies in Istanbul, in the district of Fatih, in the neighbourhood of Zeyrek, one of the poorest areas of the walled city. It is located less than one kilometer to the northwest of the complex of Zeyrek. The building lies on a slope which overlooks the Golden Horn, and rests on a platform which is the ceiling of a cistern.

Some time before 1087, Anna Dalassena, mother of Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, built on the top of the fourth hill of Constantinople a nunnery, dedicated to Christos Pantepoptes, where she retired at the end of her life, following Imperial custom. The convent comprised a main church, also dedicated to the Pantepoptes. On April 12, 1204, during the siege of Constantinople, Emperor Alexios V Doukas Mourtzouphlos set his headquarters near the Monastery.

From this vantage point he could see the Venetian fleet under command of Doge Enrico Dandolo deploying between the monastery of the Euergetes and the church of St. Mary of the Blachernae before attacking the city. After the successful attack he took flight abandoning his purple tent on the spot, and so allowing Baldwin of Flanders to spend his victory night inside it.

From this vantage point he could see the Venetian fleet under command of Doge Enrico Dandolo deploying between the monastery of the Euergetes and the church of St. Mary of the Blachernae before attacking the city. After the successful attack he took flight abandoning his purple tent on the spot, and so allowing Baldwin of Flanders to spend his victory night inside it. The complex was sacked by the crusaders, and afterward it was assigned to Benedictine monks of San Giorgio Maggiore.

During the Latin occupation of Constantinople (1204-1261) the building became a Roman Catholic church. Based on this information, the Patriarch Constantius I (1830-1834) identified the Eski Imaret with the Pantepoptes church. This identification has been largely accepted since, with the exception of Cyril Mango, who argued that the building's location did not actually allow for complete overview of the Golden Horn, and proposed the area currently occupied by the Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque as an alternative site for the Pantepoptes Monastery.

Austay-Effenberger and Effenberger agreed with Mango, and proposed an identification with the Church of St. Constantine, founded by the Empress Theophano in the early 10th century, highlighting its similarities to the contemporaneous Lips Monastery.

Immediately after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the church became a mosque, while the buildings of the monastery were used as zaviye, medrese and imaret for the nearby Mosque of Fatih, which was then under construction. The Turkish name of the mosque "the mosque of the old soup kitchen" refers to this. The complex was ravaged several times by fire, and the last remains of the monastery disappeared about one century ago.

Until 1970 the building was used as a koran school, and that use rendered it almost inaccessible for architectural study. In 1970, the mosque was partially closed off and restored. Despite that, the building appears to be in rather poor condition.  It is closely hemmed in all sides, making an adequate view of the exterior difficult. Its masonry consists of brick and stone, and uses the technique of recessed brick; it is the oldest extant building of Constantinople where this technique can be observed, which is typical of the Byzantine architecture of the middle empire.

Its masonry consists of brick and stone, and uses the technique of recessed brick; it is the oldest extant building of Constantinople where this technique can be observed, which is typical of the Byzantine architecture of the middle empire. In this technique, alternate coarses of bricks are mounted behind the line of the wall, and are plunged in a mortar bed. Due to that, the thickness of the mortar layers is about three times greater than that of the brick layers. The brick tiles on its roof are unique among the churches and mosques of Istanbul, which are otherwise covered with lead.

The plan belongs to the cross-in-square (or quincunx) type with a central dome and four vaulted crossarms, a sanctuary to the east and an esonarthex and an exonarthex to the west. This appears to be an addition of the Palaiologan period, substituting an older portico, and is divided into three bays. The lateral ones are surmounted by cross vaults, the central one by a dome. A unique feature of this building is the U-shaped gallery which runs over the narthex and the two western bays of the quincunx.

In this technique, alternate coarses of bricks are mounted behind the line of the wall, and are plunged in a mortar bed. Due to that, the thickness of the mortar layers is about three times greater than that of the brick layers. The brick tiles on its roof are unique among the churches and mosques of Istanbul, which are otherwise covered with lead. The plan belongs to the cross-in-square (or quincunx) type with a central dome and four vaulted crossarms, a sanctuary to the east and an esonarthex and an exonarthex to the west.

This appears to be an addition of the Palaiologan period, substituting an older portico, and is divided into three bays. The lateral ones are surmounted by cross vaults, the central one by a dome. A unique feature of this building is the U-shaped gallery which runs over the narthex and the two western bays of the quincunx. The gallery has windows opening towards both the naos and the crossarm. It is possible that the gallery was built for the private use of the Empress-Mother.

As in many of the surviving Byzantine churches of Istanbul, the four columns which supported the crossing were replaced by piers, and the colonnades at either ends of the crossarms were filled in. The piers divide the nave into three aisles. The side aisles lead into small clover-leaf shaped chapels to the east, connected to the sanctuary and ended to the east, like the sanctuary, with an apse. These chapels are the prothesis and diaconicon. The Ottomans resurfaced the apses and built a minaret, which does not exist any more.

The dome, which during the Ottoman period was given a helmet-like shape, recovered its original scalloped roofline in the restoration of 1970. This is typical of the churches of the Macedonian period. The tent-like roofing of the gallery has been also replaced with tiles that follow the curves of the vaulting.

The exterior has occasional decorative motifs, like sunbursts, meanders, basket-wave patterns and cloisonnés: the latter motif is typical of the Greek architecture of this period but unknown elsewhere in Constantinople. Of the original interior, nothing remains but some marble moldings, cornices, and doorframes. Despite its architectural significance, the building is still one among the least studied monuments of Istanbul.

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YAVUZ SELİM MOSQUE

Yavuzselim, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'37.0"N 28°57'04.0"E / 41.026944, 28.951111



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The complex is located in the Yavuz Sultan Selim I neighbourhood of Fatih. This was one of the least accesible areas of the city with the Kırk Merdiven cliffs on one side and a deep cistern on the other. The Sultan Selim complex which was built by Suleiman the Magnificient in memory of his father, Yavuz Sultan Selim I, during the years 1516-1522 in the Sultan Selim area of the Fatih district on a hill which overlooks the Haliç (Golden Horn).

It consists of a  mosque, a soup-kitchen (imaret), a Sıbyan mektebi (Ottoman elementary-primary school), a darüşşifa (hospital), a Turkish bath, and a tomb. The buildings occupy the fifth hill of the historic peninsula, a prominent site adjoining the fifth century open air cistern Aspar.

Commissioned by Süleyman I (Kanuni, the Magnificent, 1520-1566) in honor of his late father Selim I (Yavuz Sultan Selim, 1512-1520), the Sultan Selim I Complex was completed in 1522, as stated on the inscriptive plaque on the mosque portal. Only the mosque, hospices, Quranic School and royal tombs remain from the larger complex that also included a hostel for pilgrims, a madrasa, double baths and soup kitchen. The soup kitchen to the north of the precinct was replaced by a girl's school in 1917; it contained a kitchen and stables.

The complex is located in an outer courtyard which rings the complex. The area designated for late-arriving worshippers is encircled by 18 columns and 22 domes. The 20 windows around the courtyard are covered with glazed tile panels, which are among the finest examples of the period. The portico of the courtyard is decorated with floral designs. A reservoir for ablutions is found in the centre of the courtyard. It is domed with eight marble pillars.

The mosque is situated in the middle of a large outer courtyard, and its enterance faces a cloistered inner courtyard that can be entered through three different directions from the outer courtyard, and which is encircled by 22 domes. There is an extraordinary fountain with eight columns located in the middle of the inner courtyard. The main area of the mosque is covered by a dome of 24.5 meters in diameter.

When both the size and height of the dome’s design are taken into a consideration, there is a clear attempt for it to dominate the main space of the mosque.. There is a respondent platform (müezzin mahfili), located on six small colums on the righthand side of the Harim (sanctum sanctorum) and an eye-pleasing Hünkar Mahfili (royal residence) is raised on eight columns on the left hand side.

The enclosed cemetery on the kiblah, or Mecca, side of the mosque contains of the remains of Yavuz Sultan Selim, the heirs of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent who died at a young age, his daughters and three tombs belonging to Sultan Abdülmecid. Of these, the window shutters, door, and wooden banister of the mausoleum belonging to Yavuz Sultan Selim are masterpieces in mother-of-pearl relief. Other than the mosque and mausoleum, the only structure which has survived to the present is the primary school, located in the outer courtyard.

Evliya Çelebi, a famous traveller and  historian, stated that cages with gilding in the royal residence had been added by Sultan Ibrahim (1615 – 1648). The inlaying used on tile panels, which are located on the door of qibla and on several window arches, adds to the artistic value to these elements. In addition, the inlaid marble pulpit and two minarets with single balconies attract the attention of visitors to this plain mosque.

There are two minarets with a single gallery each, and rooms on both sides of the mosque for the imam and müezzin. The shutters of the door are fine examples of engraving and mother-of-pearl relief. The mosque is square in shape and extremely simple in design. The pulpit is made of ornamented marble.

The enclosed cemetery on the kiblah, or Mecca, side of the mosque contains of the remains of Yavuz Sultan Selim, the heirs of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent who died at a young age, his daughters and three tombs belonging to Sultan Abdülmecid. Of these, the window shutters, door, and wooden banister of the mausoleum belonging to Yavuz Sultan Selim are masterpieces in mother-of-pearl relief. Other than the mosque and mausoleum, the only structure which has survived to the present is the primary school, located in the outer courtyard.

Commissioned by Sultan Süleyman I (Kanuni, the Magnificent, 1520-1566) in honor of his late father Sultan Selim I (Yavuz Sultan Selim, 1512-1520), the Sultan Selim I Complex was completed in 1522, as stated on the inscriptive plaque on the mosque portal. Only the mosque, hospices, Quranic School and royal tombs remain from the larger complex that also included a hostel for pilgrims, a madrasa, double baths and soup kitchen. The soup kitchen to the north of the precinct was replaced by a girl's school in 1917; it contained a kitchen and stables.

The mosque and its rectangular, walled precinct are aligned with qibla on the northwest-southeast axis. Three gates, located at the south corner (Türbe Kapısı), west corner (Çarşı Kapısı) and along the northwest wall, lead into the precinct. The mosque, with its cemetery, occupies the southeast end of the precinct and is composed of a single-domed prayer hall preceded by a large, arcaded courtyard and flanked by square hospice wings.

The mosque courtyard is entered from a main portal facing northwest, and two side portals. It is enveloped on three sides with an arcade of eighteen bays, continued with the six-bays of the prayer hall portico to the northwest. The bays of the arcade and portico are covered with domes, while the two bays adjoining the courtyard and prayer hall portals support lofty mirror vaults. An octagonal ablution fountain, covered with a domed canopy built by Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640), occupies the center of a courtyard, surrounded by four cypress trees. Grilled windows give views from the courtyard arcade onto the precinct; each window is adorned with a floral tile panel in its tympanum.

A muqarnas portal leads into the prayer hall, which measures twenty-four and a half meters per side - two bays shorter than the width of the portico. It is capped at thirty-two and a half meters by a single dome that rests on pendentives between four grand arches embedded in the walls. The interior is lit by four casement windows on each wall, which are topped by arched windows that display colored glass arabesques. Windows pierced at the base of the shallow dome are separated by buttresses on the exterior.

The exposed stone interior is decorated simply with inscriptive medallions bearing the names of God, the Prophet and Caliphs. Muqarnas carvings adorn the hood of the marble mihrab on the qibla wall, while the marble minbar to its right is carved with arabesque motifs highlighted in red, black and gold. The marble müezzin's platform (müezzin mahfili) abuts the southwest wall and is raised over six square pillars.

The large sultan's lodge, also of marble with eight precious columns, occupies the eastern corner of the prayer hall. It was constructed in the mid-sixteenth century, and is accessed only from the outside, with steps built into the northeast wall. Examples of period woodwork can be seen on doors, windowpanes and the ceiling below the sultan's lodge.

The hospice wings on either side of the prayer hall consist of nine domed bays that form a cross-shaped central hall and four corner rooms. The halls are entered from the prayer hall, or from the exterior. Two minarets with muqarnas balconies are attached to either end of the mosque portico where it meets the two hospice wings. The prayer hall, hospice and minarets were restored in 1930 and 1962, and most recently beginning in 2003.

Grilled windows give views from the courtyard arcade onto the precinct; each window is adorned with a floral tile panel in its tympanum. A muqarnas portal leads into the prayer hall, which measures twenty-four and a half meters per side - two bays shorter than the width of the portico. It is capped at 32,5 meters by a single dome that rests on pendentives between four grand arches embedded in the walls.

The interior is lit by four casement windows on each wall, which are topped by arched windows that display colored glass arabesques. Windows pierced at the base of the shallow dome are separated by buttresses on the exterior. The exposed stone interior is decorated simply with inscriptive medallions bearing the names of God, the Prophet and Caliphs. Muqarnas carvings adorn the hood of the marble mihrab on the qibla wall, while the marble minbar to its right is carved with arabesque motifs highlighted in red, black and gold.

The marble muezzin's platform (müezzin mahfili) abuts the southwest wall and is raised over six square pillars. The large sultan's lodge, also of marble with eight precious columns, occupies the eastern corner of the prayer hall. It was constructed in the mid-sixteenth century, and is accessed only from the outside, with steps built into the northeast wall. Examples of period woodwork can be seen on doors, windowpanes and the ceiling below the sultan's lodge.

It was built by taking samples of mosques in Edirne, and it is one of the last examples of a mosque with hostels. The mosque is situated in the middle of a large outer courtyard, and its enterance faces a cloistered inner courtyard that can be entered through three different directions from the outer courtyard, and which is encircled by 22 domes. There is an extraordinary fountain with eight columns located in the middle of the inner courtyard. The main area of the mosque is covered by a dome of 24.5 meters in diameter.

The mosque is located in an outer courtyard which rings the complex. The area designated for late-arriving worshippers is encircled by 18 columns and 22 domes. The 20 windows around the courtyard are covered with glazed tile panels, which are among the finest examples of the period. The portico of the courtyard is decorated with floral designs.

A reservoir for ablutions is found in the center of the courtyard. It is domed with eight marble pillars. There are two minarets with a single gallery each and rooms on both sides of the mosque for the imam and müezzin. The shutters of the door are fine examples of engraving and mother-of-pearl relief. The mosque is square in shape and extremely simple in design.

When both the size and height of the dome’s design are taken into a consideration, there is a clear attempt for it to dominate the main space of the mosque. There is a respondent platform (müezzin mahfili), located on six small colums on the righthand side of the Harim (sanctum sanctorum) and an eye-pleasing Hünkar Mahfili (royal residence) is raised on eight columns on the left hand side.

The mosque was built on a terrace overlooking the Cistern of Aspar, the largest of the three Roman reservoirs in Constantinople. The large courtyard (avlu) has a colonnaded portico with columns of various types of marble and granite. The mosque itself is decorated with very early examples of İznik tiles. The mosque is flanked by twin minarets.

The interior plan of the mosque is a simple square room, 24.5 meters on each side, covered by a shallow dome 32.5 meters in height. As with the Hagia Sophia, the dome is much shallower than a full hemisphere. The windows are decorated with lunettes of İznik tiles. To the north and south of the main room, domed passages led to four small domed rooms, which were intended to function as hospices for traveling dervishes.

Madrasah
On the Adnan Menderes Street, the madrasah was built by Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent for his father, Sultan Selim I. The 20 rooms of the madrasah, built by the Architect Sinan, surround the three sides of the courtyard. The madrasah’s classroom was transformed into a mosque in 1562 by adding a minaret.

Damaged in the fire of 1819, the minaret of the madrasah collapsed in 1942. The madrasah was abandoned after a fire while it was being used as soup kitchen in 1918. During the roadwork of Vatan Street in 1958, the madrasah was repaired and it functioned as the Turkish Calligraphy Museum between 1968 and 1980.

It was built by Mimar Sinan according to Tezkiretü’l-Ebniye, Tezkiretü’l Bünyan and Tuhfetü’l Mimarin which gives the list of artifacts of Mimar Sinan. There is no inscription which states the date of construction. But in sources it is stated that it was built in 1548-1549. The lecture hall was transformed to mescid (a small mosque) in 1562-1563 and a minaret and mimbar were added.

Madrasa was constructed with ashlar sandstone and brick in patches and was surrounded with walls. A monumental entrance was added to this wall’s front towards Aksaray and a fountain which has no tablet was added next to it. The courtyard is reached through a second port after this entrance which was covered with dome. Madrasa alcoves are lined up in U shape around this courtyard. The madrasa consists of nineteen alcoves and surrounds the three sides of the courtyard with an iwan.

Water-tank with a fountain in the middle of courtyard could not reach our day. Domed and hooped porches which were located on stone pillars in front of madrasa alcoves are combined each other with aspheric cinctures. The alcoves which are square planned are covered with pendentive domes. These alcoves are opened to porches via a door. They have three windows for each toward outside being two of them above and one below. Yashmaks of inner fireplaces have not reached our day. Tetragonal and hexagonal prismatic chimneys of fireplaces are shaped as leaded high cones.

Lecture room of madrasa is in direction of south-west and is slid towards symmetric axis of courtyard. Only its porch part is in courtyard and main body of the lecture room effused outside. Entrance porch of lecture room is covered with a hipped roof. A stalactite mihrab is located on the entrance of square planned lecture room. Two sub-windows and two top-windows are on four faces. The lecture room is covered with a pendentive dome and the passage to dome is provided via squinches. Inner adornment of its first construction has not reached our day.

Madrasa was damaged by a fire which was around after 1914, was used as soup kitchen in 1918 and was ruined by another fire in same year. Madrasa which came into the open during the making of Vatan Caddesi was restored by General Directorate of Foundations between 1958 and 1962. After that it was used as donation storage of Istanbul Principal Directorate of Foundations which consists of written works and carpets.

Royal Tombs
Four royal tombs are located in the cemetery behind the mosque's qibla wall. Made of cut stone, the tombs have octagonal plans and are covered with domes. The larger tomb of Yavuz Sultan Selim is distinguished by a portico with a shed roof carried on four columns. Past the wooden doors inlaid with mother of pearl is an entry vestibule adorned with two large tile panels. Its interior was repainted based on the original decorative scheme.

It contains the sarcophogus of Sultan Selim I (1465-1520), which is placed in the grave of the complex in the direction of the  qibla, and a white caftan is hung at the head of the sarcophogus. This famous caftan, which belonged to Sultan Selim I, was splashed with mud by a horse of İbni Kemal, who was a scholar of that period. There is a porch in the tomb decorated with panels of tiles of unique design. The doors and windows of the building are enriched with mother of pearls.

The tomb facing Yavuz Sultan Selim I to the northeast holds the graves of the three sons of  Sultan Süleyman I and two daughters of Sultan Selim I, and is known of the Tomb of Royal Princes (Şehzadeler Türbesi) where the three sons of Sultan Süleyman I and his two sisters and two daughters of Sultan Selim I were buried.

The tomb of Ayşe Hafsa Sultan (wife of Sultan Selim I and mother of Sultan Süleyman I) can be seen to the right next to the tomb of Sultan Selim I. The octagonal tomb that Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent ordered Sinan the Architect to build for his children who died in their early childhood dates to 1522. Tomb was damaged in the 1894 earthquake. Only remains of the walls of this tomb and iron bars of the windows survived till today .

The tomb of Sultan Abdülmecit, dated 1861, is the work of architect Garabet Balyan. Sultan Abdülmecit, who paid a special attention on Sultan Selim I, had the tomb shortened when he noticed his was higher. Beyond it is a similar tomb that holds the grave Sultan Abdülmecid, among others members of the royal family.

Caravanserai - Hospices
The low buildings adjacent to the minarets on the both side of the mosque are Tabhane (caravanserai - hospices). The hospice wings on either side of the prayer hall consist of nine domed bays that form a cross-shaped central hall and four corner rooms. The halls are entered from the prayer hall, or from the exterior. Two minarets with muqarnas balconies are attached to either end of the mosque portico where it meets the two hospice wings. The prayer hall, hospice and minarets were restored in 1930 and 1962, and most recently beginning in 2003.

Quranic School
The Quranic School (sibyan mektebi) is located on the northwest corner of the precinct, adjoining the Bazaar Gate (Çarşı Kapısı). It is single domed structure with a two-bay portico to its south. It has eight windows placed in two tiers on two walls. It was rebuilt after the 1918 fire and is currently used as a library.

Soup Kitchen
The imaret (kitchen) of the complex was destroyed in the earthquake of 1894 and the bath was destroyed over the course of time. Today, the building that was built by the Architect Kemaleddin on the imaret’s site in 1917 is Yavuz Selim Vocational High School for girls.

Sıbyan Mektebi
Sıbyan Mektebi, built at the entrance of outer courtyard, are the structures which still exist today.

Tabhane
The low buildings adjacent to the minarets on the both side of the mosque are Tabhane (caravanserai - hospices). The hospice wings on either side of the prayer hall consist of nine domed bays that form a cross-shaped central hall and four corner rooms. The halls are entered from the prayer hall, or from the exterior. Two minarets with muqarnas balconies are attached to either end of the mosque portico where it meets the two hospice wings. The prayer hall, hospice and minarets were restored in 1930 and 1962, and most recently beginning in 2003.

Primary School
The single domed primary school with a porch measuring 9.9 x 9.9 m was restored in 1960 after it had been ruined in the fire of 1918. The Quranic School (sibyan mektebi) is located on the northwest corner of the precinct, adjoining the Bazaar Gate (Çarşı Kapısı). It is single domed structure with a two-bay portico to its south. It has eight windows placed in two tiers on two walls. It was rebuilt after the 1918 fire and is currently used as a library.

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NURUOSMANİYE MOSQUE COMPLEX

Nuruosmaniye, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'38.0"N 28°58'14.0"E / 41.010556, 28.970556



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Nuruosmaniye Mosque Complex is an Ottoman mosque located in the Çemberlitaş neighbourhood of Fatih district in Istanbul. It is considered one of the finest examples of mosques in Ottoman Baroque style. It was built by architects Mustafa Ağa and Simon Kalfa from the order of Sultan Mahmut I and completed by his brother and successor Sultan Osman III. The architects adopted Baroque architectural elements, the mosque is also distinctive with the absence of an ablution fountain (Turkish: şadırvan). Nuruosmaniye Mosque is located near the entrance to the Kapalıçarşı (Grand Bazaar), Column of Constantine and the historical Atik Ali Paşa Mosque.

Nuruosmaniye Mosque Complex is located in Eminönü, north-west of the Çemberlitaş monument at the entrance to the Covered Bazaar. The construction of the complex was started by Sultan Mahmud I in 1749, but was not completed until a year after his death in 1755. The complex consists of a mosque, a medresse, a soup kitchen, a library, a mausoleum, a public fountain and fountain with a spout. It is in the Baroque style and includes the many shops that surround it.

The Nuruosmaniye Mosque is very distinctive from the point of view of Ottoman mosque architecture. Its three dimensional stone ornaments are unparalleled in world architecture and are a unique masterpiece of the Baroque style. It has a single dome encircled at its base with 32 windows. The mosque is illuminated by 174 windows. The most striking of the interior decorations are the lines of the walls and dome. There are two minarets each having two galleries. For the first time, a stone rather than lead crescent was used on top of the minarets.

The complex consists of a mosque (cami), madrasa (medrese), soup-kitchen (imaret), tomb (türbe), library (kütüphane) and water fountain or sabil (sebil), enclosed in an irreqular walled-in precinct, and a han and some stores (dükkan) built in the vicinity. The precinct is entered from two gates to the east and west. The western gate, called Carsikapisi or bazaar gate, opens into the covered bazaar with the sabil adjoining it.

The mosque, oriented along the northwest-southeast axis, occupies the northwest corner of the precinct, which is raised above street level on a tall basement. Beside it, at the northeast corner, are the library and the tomb. The madrasa and the soup kitchen are housed in a single structure that projects beyond the southern precinct wall. The accessory buildings are aligned loosely with the cardinal axis.

The medresse and soup kitchen are found to the north of the mosque, on the right as you enter the courtyard from the direction of the Covered Bazaar. They are placed in such a way as to give the courtyard the shape of a crescent. The fountain with spout is on the right as you enter from the direction of the Covered Bazaar to the left the public fountain. They are both in the Baroque style.

The foundation of the structure was supported by belts because it was constructed on a spring. It has an inner courtyard and an outer courtyard. There are three doors in the inner courtyard, one in the middle, two on each sides. Inner courtyard is covered by nine domes, one in the middle and four on each side.

Construction on the Nuruosmaniye Complex began in 1749 during the rule of Mahmud I (1730-1754) and was completed by his brother and successor Osman III (1754-1757) in 1755. It is located to the east of the covered bazaar and was built to replace the Mascid of Fatma Hatun, which burnt in a fire. In style, the complex is distinguished from its precedents with its adoption of baroque design elements and embodies the westernizing vision of Mahmud I.

While there is little known about its architect, Simeon Kalfa, its construction is documented in detail by construction manager Ahmed Efendi in a booklet entitled "Tarih-i Cami-i Şerif-i Nur-i Osmani". The name Nuruosmaniye, or the Light of Osman, is thought to refer to Osman III and to a verse from the Sura of Al-Nur, "God is the light of the heavens and the earth", which is inscribed inside the dome.

The mosque consists of a single domed prayer hall, preceded by a courtyard of comparable size to the northwest. The courtyard is entered through a main portal to the northwest and two side portals. It has a unique semi-elliptical shape created with the use of wedge-segments placed between nine domed bays; it is also distinctive with the omission of an ablution fountain. Windows placed at two levels provide views outside. There is no ablution fountain. The five-bay mosque portico completes the courtyard arcade and leads into the prayer hall through a central portal.

The prayer hall is square with a semi-circular mihrab apse and is crowned with a large dome 25 meters in diameter and raised to a height of 43.50 meters on four monumental arches. The interior space is activated by wide galleries that surround it on three sides. There are no aisles; the space below the galleries is an exterior arcade and is accessed through two side doors with cascading steps. At three different places - the entrance and the two corners flanking the qibla wall - the galleries are widened to form balconies that project into the prayer hall carried on columns. The corner balconies are deepened further with the inclusion of arcade space; the one to the east is the sultan's lodge and has gilted latticework between its columns. It is accessed primarily by a ramp outside the mosque that allowed the sultan to ascend to his quarters on his horse.

The tympana of the grand arches, equal in height to the galleries, are braced with smaller concentric arches that help strengthen the structure. At the qibla wall, the small arch is joined with the semi-dome that covers the mihrab apse. Sixteen windows in each tympanum light up the interior, in addition to the numerous casement windows at the ground and gallery levels. There are twenty-eight more windows at the base of the dome. With the exception of the casements, windows are made of interlacing pieces of colored and plain glass.

The interior of the mosque is covered with gray marble panels up to the galleries where a thick structural cornice, inscribed with the Sura of Al-Fath, adorns and braces the structure. Below the gallery, calligraphic medallions crown each casement window. The baroque influence is conveyed through the extensive use of sculptural elements such as pilasters and cornices, and baroque motifs, such as garlands, finials and scallops. Going beyond mere imitation, the Nuruosmaniye mosque achieves one of the finest instances of Ottoman baroque, a unique synthesis between classical Ottoman and contemporary western styles that is epitomized in the scallop muqarnas domes crowning its portals.

On the exterior, the silhouette of the mosque is marked by the tall dome and domed arches rising dramatically above the courtyard walls amidst the low-lying market neighborhood. The curved outlines of the baroque buttresses that anchor the dome at its corners and the thick cornice that crowns the grand arches, dominate the architectural expression. The two minarets, attached at either end of the mosque portico, have fluted shafts with two balconies and stone caps. The mosque is primarily constructed of cut stone.

Madrasa and Soup-Kitchen
The madrasa is built on a traditional plan, and has twenty domed rooms and a large classroom (dersane) enveloping an arcaded courtyard. The soup-kitchen adjoins it to the west and is about half the size of the madrasa. Entered through a domed entryway to the north, the soup-kitchen is organized around an inner courtyard that gives access to the kitchens to the south and a dining room to the west, with the madrasa wall bounding it to the east.

Library
The library is a single-story building set on a high platform accessed by two sets of stairs located to the west that lead into separate entryways. An Arabic inscription above the entrance states: "Demand science, from the cradle to the grave." It has a cross-plan with widely rounded corners and consists of an elliptical reading room enveloped by an arcade made of fourteen columns. An additional storage room projects between the two staircases to the west; there is also a full basement.

The reading room is covered by a dome flanked by two semi-domes, and the arcade spaces have cross vaults. Thirty windows, placed at two levels, illuminate the interior. The bulbous footprint of the library is enhanced on the exterior with the play of pilasters and moldings. Opened in 1755 with eighteen employees, the Nuruosmaniye Library is a branch of the Süleymaniye Library today and contains personal collections of Sultan Mahmud I and Sultan Osman III with a total of 7600 volumes of which 5052 are manuscripts.

Tomb
The tomb is located slightly to the south of the library and was originally intended for Sultan Mahmud I, who is buried in the Tomb of Valide Turhan Sultan. Şehsuvar Valide Sultan, the mother of Sultan Osman III, was buried here in 1756. The tomb is a single domed room, preceded by a three-bay domed portico to the west. Its exterior appearance is marked by the curved outline of the portico and the large weight turrets that flank the dome at its four corners.

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MAHMUD PAŞA MOSQUE COMPLEX

Mahmutpaşa, Fatih - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'41.0"N 28°58'17.0"E / 41.011389, 28.971389



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In the borough of Eminönü this complex is located on the north east side of Nuruosmaniye Complex and comprised of a mosque, tomb, hamam, a inn (commercial building generating income for the complex), a higher education school, soup kitchen and a school for young boys.

Today all that remains is the mosque, tomb, inn and hamam. This complex was the first ministrial complex and with the Fatih Complex is the most important group of buildings dating from 15th century. Construction was started in early 1460, the mosque being completed by 1462 and the other sections were completed by 1474. The complex was built by Arhitect Atik Sinan on the orders of the Prime Minister Mahmud Paşa.

Roofed by two big domes with three smaller ones surrounding them, the interior tiles with white calligraphy on a blue background were added at a later date. The pulpit and altar were made of carved marble and there are six carved stone columns supporting the five domes and smaller domes cover the surrounding corridors. Over the mihrap is an inscription with the date 868 (hegira calendar) pertaining to the date of the buildings completion. The surrounds of the gate are carved marble.

In 1766 the mosque was destroyed by an earthquake and was rebuilt in 1785. After the Great Fire of 1827 it was restored in 1829. Due to the repeated repairs much of the ornamentation is not original. The single balconied minaret built of cut-stone took it final shape after the 1936 restoration.

Mahmut Paşa's tomb is in the mosque garden and there is a fountain built by Mustafa Ağa in the courtyard. Mahmut Paşa Hamam and the Kürkçü Han (Furriers building) are İstanbul's oldest hamam and han, located to the north of the mosque. Of the school located to the east of the mosque there remains today only one classroom.

Mahmud Paşa (d. 1474), a devsirme from Serbia, was the grand-vizier of Mehmed II between 1453-66 and 1472-74 and is known also as a poet and a patron of the arts. The complex he built inside the city walls following the fall of Constantinople consists of a mosque, a madrasa (medrese), a han, public baths (hamam) and his mausoleum (türbe). The law court (mahkeme), Koranic school (sübyan mektebi) and the soup kitchen (imaret) are not extant. The madrasa of the complex has been ruined save its large classroom (dersane).

The mosque of the complex was completed in 1464 (869 A.H.) and thoroughly renovated during the rule of Sultan Osman III in 1753 (1169 A.H.) It has since been restored twice, in 1828 and 1936. It is composed of a two-unit prayer hall flanked by eyvans to the east and west and preceded by a vestibule and a portico to the north. The portico was altered in the 18th century when its six marble columns were encased in stone piers. Its five bays are covered by domes.

The mosque, which is considered to be the primary structure of the complex, was built to a great extent according to the first Ottoman Architectural style. A good example of early Ottoman architecture, the mosque measures 25.45 x 11.9 m and the central dome is 11 m in diameter. There are 18 domes, including the two domes covering the main space of the mosque.

The mosque, heavily damaged in a fire, was renovated by Sultan Osman III in 1755. The mosque, which was ruined during the earthquake of 1766, was restored in 1785. The mosque was opened for service in 1829 after the fire of 1827.

The interior decorations lost their features due to the repeated repairs and rebuilding in 1936. The altar and pulpit were renewed in the 18th century and the royal chamber was installed in 1828. The single balconied minaret built of cut-stone, took its current shape after the restoration in 1936. The fountain and sebil in the mosque’s courtyard were built between 1618 and 1622.

The mosque, which is considered to be the primary structure of the complex, was built to a great extent according to the first Ottoman Architectural style. The grand portal with inscriptions leads into a three-bay vestibule extended with vaulted rooms on either end. Its central bay, which opens to the prayer hall through a tall arch, is crowned with a stalactite cross vault. Its neighboring bays have umbrella vaults composed of 24 ribs.

The prayer hall consists of two domed units separated by a grand arch. Its interior of the prayer hall, including the mihrab and minbar, was renovated in the 19th century. The sultan's box (hünkar mahfili) to the left was added by Sultan Mahmud II in 1828-9. (A.H. 1244). There is an inscription on the qibla gate (to the shrine) of the mosque which reveals the year when it was built.

Doors on either side open to corridors that run alongside the prayer hall, giving access to three open eyvans, ending at the vestibule. Here, small passages lead to side exits. The mosque has a single minaret on the northwest corner, which is accessed from the room to the west of the vestibule. Here, small passages lead to side exits. Its stalactite balcony was replaced with a simpler design in 1936. The stone panels of the exterior were replaced in time. A contemporary ablution fountain stands in the plaza before the mosque.

The mosque has a single minaret on the northwest corner, which is accessed from the room to the west of the vestibule. Its stalactite balcony was replaced with a simpler design in 1936. The stone panels of the exterior were replaced in time. A contemporary ablution fountain stands in the plaza before the mosque.

The han, called the Kürkçü or Furriers' Han, is located down the Mahmud Paşa Highway from the hamam. It was completed in 1476 (871 A.H.) It had 167 rooms on two stories organized around two open courtyards and a basement for storage. The first courtyard is a replica of Fidan Han in the market neighborhood of Bursa, built also by Mahmud Paşa. It has remained intact save its portico, which was enclosed for additional space.

The second courtyard, irregular in plan with five unequal sides, was probably used for stables and storage. It is now largely replaced with modern shops and buildings. A freestanding assembly of shops, placed diagonally inside the first courtyard, used to have a mescid on its second floor. It is the only han that has come to our day from the Sultan Mehmed I era.

In addition, a bath, one of the oldest of Istanbul (1466), a water fountain or sabil (sebil), built by Mustafa Ağa (the chief officer of the Ottoman Palace), are the other structures which have made their way to the present day. Finally, there is only one classroom remaining from the madrasah of the complex.

Mahmud Paşa and his son are buried in an octagonal tomb to the south of the mosque. The exterior of the tomb is covered with stone panels that are inlaid with blue-green tiles between the cornice and the lower windows that are arranged in a pattern of interlocking wheels and stars. The domed interior is entered through a double arched door to the northeast. Built in 1473 (878 A.H), a year prior to the execution of Mahmud Paşa by Mehmed II, the tomb was restored by architect Mustafa Ayaşlı in 1946.

Hamam
The hamam, built in 1466 (871 A.H.), is located on the Mahmud Paşa highway leading up to the mosque. It consists of an entrance hall with latrines, a cold-room (sogukluk) and a hot-room (sıcaklık). The entry to the baths is adorned with a grand muqarnas portal beyond which the entrance hall looms large with its tall dome measuring 27 meters in diameter. Entering the smaller cold-room under a demi-dome, the square space with two eyvans and private bathing cells (halvet) is covered with a whorl dome.

The dome, 17 m in diameter, covering the frigidarium of the bath, which was built in 1466 - 1467, two years after the Pasha died, is impressive. The women’s section of the bath, damaged many times by fires, was destroyed, and Abud Efendi Han was built in the same place in 1895. It is the second oldest Ottoman bath in İstanbul and today it serves as a market.

The following hot room has an octagonal navel stone (göbektaşı) at its center under a dome pierced with lights that sits on eight piers. It has five eyvans with taps and basins between the piers and two other eyvans give access to private cells at the four corners of the chamber. A han stands today on the site of the women's section that was demolished. The remaining men's section survived damage by fire in 1755 and was restored in 1955.

Han (Caravanserai)
The han, called the Kürkçü or Furriers' Han, is located down the Mahmud Paşa Highway from the hamam. It was completed in 1476 (871 A.H.) It had 167 rooms on two stories organized around two open courtyards and a basement for storage. The first courtyard is a replica of Fidan Han in the market neighborhood of Bursa, built also by Mahmud Paşa.

It has remained intact save its portico, which was enclosed for additional space. The second courtyard, irregular in plan with five unequal sides, was probably used for stables and storage. It is now largely replaced with modern shops and buildings. A freestanding assembly of shops, placed diagonally inside the first courtyard, used to have a mescid on its second floor. It is the only han that has come to our day from the Sultan Mehmed I era.

Madrasah
The madrasa of the complex has been ruined save its large classroom (dersane). From the madrasah completed in 1472, there remains today only its classroom.

Sebil
A water fountain or sabil (sebil), built by Mustafa Ağa, the chief officer of the Ottoman Palace.

Tomb
Mahmud Paşa and his son are buried in an octagonal tomb to the south of the mosque. The exterior of the tomb is covered with stone panels that are inlaid with blue-green tiles between the cornice and the lower windows that are arranged in a pattern of interlocking wheels and stars. The domed interior is entered through a double arched door to the northeast. Built in 1473 (878 A.H), a year prior to the execution of Mahmud Paşa by Sultan Mehmed II, the tomb was restored in 1946.

Mahmut Pasha was executed in 1474, and adorning his tomb which resembles Seljuk architecture, the figures of tiles are unique and can be seen nowhere else. With 7.37 m diameter, the dome’s original epigraph was removed after the renovation of 1827 and a short inscription was replaced instead. Mahmud Paşa, the tomb’s builder, is burried in the domed tomb composed of limestone (küfeki taşı) blocks on an octagonal plan.

The türbe is octagonal and has windows on 7 sides and a door without porch on the eighth.The domed interior is entered through a double arched door to the northeast.The türbe is remarkable for the indigo, blue and green glazed bricks which decorate it sexterior walls forming interlocking wheels and star patterns.

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MİHRİMAH SULTAN MADRASA

Selmanağa, Üsküdar - Istanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'38.5"N 29°00'58.7"E / 41.027361, 29.016306



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Mihrimah Sultan Madrasa was built by Mimar Sinan. It was in the middle of a complex constituted of mosque, Ottoman soup kitchen for the poor, school, muvakkithane, fountain and mortmain.

There are fourteen rooms and a classroom in the Medressah. The classroom is in the north of the Madrasa. There is a pretty fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

Medressah was built for “Üsküdar Nursing and Schooling Infants Social Hygiene Dispensary”. It’s became Psychiatry Dispensary in the year 1975. Now, it is been operated as a Özel Mihrimah Sultan Tıp Merkezi Hastanesi.

Today, the medresse is used as a health center and the school for the children is now a childrens library. There is a fountain located next to the wall closest to the Bosphorus and another one under the school.

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WEB SITE : Özel Mihrimah Sultan Tıp Merkezi

MORE INFO & CONTACT
Phone : +90 216 341 7090
Fax : +90 216 341 6399

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MİHRİŞAH VALİDE SULTAN İMARETİ

Eyüp - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°02'54.6"N 28°56'05.0"E / 41.048500, 28.934722



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One of the best examples of this is the imaret (soup kitchen for the poor) and külliye (ensemble of buildings with philanthropic purposes) built in Eyüp thanks to Mihrişah Valide Sultan, head wife (başkadın) of Sultan Mustafa III and mother of Sultan Selim III. She was very religious, a philanthropist, motivated by public spirit, but nevertheless disdained politics. This institution, with the legal structure of a religious foundation was inaugurated in 1208 of the Muslim Era (1793) and has been operating uninterruptedly over 2 hundred  years.

It is still a source of hope and security for the poor even in our days. The purpose of this paper is to present the deed of trust of this foundation (vakfiye), trying to reflect as much as possible the spirit and style with which it was written. This vakfiye reflects the way philanthropy and public spirit and service were viewed in those days and also the social and economic structure of that period. This document states and declares that the following were entrusted to the foundation :

"...The 1400 square cubit lot in the Cami-i Kebir neighbourhood, near the Bostan wharf, with exactly defined borders until now was used by the Hz. (abbreviation of Hazreti, which is a title that denotes great respect) Ebu Eyyubel Ensari foundation with a yearly income of 1800 akçe (silver coin) and the following built on this land parcel with the hope of gaining divine favour and of having done a good deed; two stone rooms for the mausoleum keepers, two stone rooms for the bakers, two stone baking rooms, two stone rooms for the administrator, one sitting room, one stone room for the keeper of the sebil (free water distribution point), a kitchen, four toilets, a pantry, (another) kitchen, a baking oven, a big food warehouse, an imaret with adjoining buildings, a mausoleum, a sebil, a fountain and other service buildings... "

A 361.5 square cubit lot, which until now was used by the Hz. Ebu Eyyub-el Ensari foundation with a yearly income of 360 akçe and which is surrounded by the mansion of the palace cleric Seyyit Osman Efendizade, by the mansion of the famous madrasa (theological school) teacher Seyyit Mahmut Molla, by the sea-shore and by the road on its other two sides, over which there is a boat-house with two cells, a coffee house and three adjacent stone shop buildings.

The 1503.5 square cubit lot, enclosed by a stonewall, over which there is the wood warehouse of the imaret. The lot in the Cami-i Kebir neighbourhood, surrounded by the Türbe Bath and its furnace, by the house of Hüseyin Ağa, by a school and by two roads, one public, one private, which was bought from the Sinan Paşa religious foundation, together with the source of clean and good quality water in it having the capacity of a masura (unit of measure).

The three houses with a yearly income of 180 akçe of the Hz. Halit religious foundation. The eight measures of water provided by the K›rkçeflme water establishment to the mausoleum, the fountain and the sebil. The noble mosque at the Hasköy Bombardier and Supper Corps barracks. The following were entrusted to the foundation with the aim of covering its expenses :

"60 rooms near the Vefa mosque in Istanbul set on more than one storey and built with their own materials, four big stables, one warehouse, a barn, a coal shed, two masura of clean water, 15 toilets, a courtyard surrounded by a stone wall, a big inn with 20 shops, a corridor and an entrance; an oil making establishment, a workshop to manufacture pots and pans and a painting workshop at the Çelebioğlu neighbourhood of Istanbul; the ten rooms, wooden storehouse, two toilets, tripe selling establishment, two storey stone storehouse, ceramic cup shop on a 1675 square cubit lot at the Çelebioğlu neighbourhood; the Leblebiciler Inn together with an adjoining empty lot and a stable at the Çelebioğlu neighbourhood; 20 rooms set on more than one storey, two open sheds, a kitchen, a natural paint making workshop at the Veliefendi Çeşmesi neighbourhood of Eyüp."

In addition to this, farms, warehouses full of seeds, dairies, flour mills, paint making workshops, workshops with warrants (gedik), turquoise workshops, fruit vending shops and other establishments providing a cash flow in places like Çengelköy, the Levent Farm, Kasımpaşa, Yenişehir, İznik, various towns in the province of Muğla, Büyükdere, Küçükçekmece and various neighbourhoods of Eyüp, were entrusted to this religious foundation, so that it could exist until the end of time. All these and more were listed in the vakfiye from the 5th to the 37th page, together with their locations, areas and detailed descriptions.

One could get suspicious about such a great wealth and about the ways it was obtained, but it is to be taken into account that Ottoman Courts would never have approved the registration of a religious foundation created with wealth of dubious origins. It is also to be taken into account that the valide sultan (mother of the sultan and the Turkish equivalent of the queen mother) was one of the highest ranking functionaries of the Ottoman State. Accordingly, Mihrişah Valide Sultan, the virtues of whom we have mentioned, spent her wealth for the good of humanity, in a way befitting someone of noble spirit.

Beginning from the 41st page there is the list of the duties and services and the payments and benefits, both in cash and in kind to people like the cleric, the preacher, the müezzin, the keeper of the Quran, the reciters of various prayers and various scholars. The duties of the various people on festive occasions like the kandil nights or the two main festivities were also listed in detail.

The duties of the keepers of the mausolea, the number of oil lamps to be lighted, the way fountains and sebils were to be kept, the offerings to the public, the ceremonies at the Mevlevî dervish orders, the offerings to the dervishes and many many more elements are described in details.

The Eyüp imaret is still a very important institution within the General Directorate of Religious Foundations. Its daily capacity, which was of 1000 people until the end of 1997, has been increased to 2500 at the beginning of 1998. The imaret has been modernised and steam cauldrons have been added. The widespread custom of ritually slaughtering animals within the imaret has been taken into consideration by the General Directorate of Religious Foundations, with the result that a modern facility for this has been added.

The various parts of the slaughtered animals like the offal, except the meat, are auctioned off and the income is used for good deeds and for the upkeep of the imaret. The meat is frozen, processed and then kept in special freezers with a capacity of 35 tons. The quantity of meat donated is about 250 tons a year. This meat is cooked and distributed by six kitchens in various parts of Istanbul.

Some of this meat is distributed to other philanthropic institutions all over Turkey, by means of a refrigerated lorry, so that hot meals can be given to the needy. This imaret used to help more than 10,000 poor students in around 60 youth hostels, until these were transferred to the Ministry of Public Education, in 1999, with fictitious pretexts.

This institution, created thanks to the benevolence of the noble spirited Mihrişah Valide Sultan, has been favoured with the interest of many people, also because of the sanctity of its surroundings. The city administration is adding a modern and hygienic slaughtering facility to the building described as firewood storehouse in the vakfiye and also other facilities.

The General Directorate of Religious Foundations and the Istanbul City Administration, both of which are public institutions, should come to an agreement so that the imaret can be administered-as a living museumby the General Directorate of Religious Foundations, as required by the Principles of Religious Foundations, the better to use this unique institution.

The General Directorate of Religious Foundations and the Istanbul City Administration should also take into consideration the interest shown to the Mihrişah Valide Sultan imaret, in addition to that shown to other nice places in the district of Eyüp, by both local and foreign tourists.

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