ÇORLULU ALİ PASHA COMPLEX

Çemberlitaş, Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°00'32.2"N 28°58'05.3"E / 41.008944, 28.968139



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The complex, in Janissaries Street, was built for Çorlulu Ali Pasha between 1707 and 1709. Çorlulu Ali Pasha Mosque is located in the left coming from the Grand Bazaar to Çemberlitaş and next to the old Şimkeşhane building.

Çorlulu Damat Ali Pasha was an Ottoman grand vizier of the early 18th century (Çorlu 1670 - Lesbos 1711). After the Edirne event, Sultan Ahmet III appointed him as the Beylerbeyi (high governor) of Aleppo (in modern Syria) and later Beylerbey of Tripoli (modern Lebanon). In 1704 he returned to İstanbul as a member of the Ottoman Porte. In 1706, he was appointed as grand vizier. Two years later he married to Emine Sultana (daughter of the late Sultan Mustafa II) and gained the title damat (groom).

The complex, resembles the classical style, and is one of the important examples of the transition period to the Baroque style. The mosque is also a complex consisting of dervish lodge, library, hazier, madrasas and meşruta. Firstly, the mosque was built and was used as tevhidhane of a lodge at the same time.

Most of the mosque has kept its original view until today, after the earthquake on May 23, 1766 some parts of the mosque were renovated and the fountain which is placed on the Janissaries Street (former Divanyolu) was added in the same period. Although all the buildings in the complex were damaged during the earthquake of 1894, the priority for restoration was given to the mosque.

 In 1963, the mosque was restored by the General Foundation Directorate. Now, the mosque, madrasas and dervish cells are used as souvenir shops; classrooms and the courtyard of the madrasas are used as cafe, library is used as the meşruta of the imam.

Mosque
Çorlulu Ali Pasha Mosque is one of the last representatives of the Ottoman style built between the years 1707 and 1709 and at the same time it is a complex. Çorlulu Ali Pasha Mosque has only one minaret. There are inscriptions on the doors of the courtyard but the inscriptions were removed.

Madrasah
The lodge (Tekke) was called ‘Evvel’ and the madrasah was named ‘Sani’ when the lodge, inside the complex, was converted into a madrasah in the 18th century. The madrasah was used for some time to house people who had lost their houses during the fire of 1918. Darü’ül Hadis of Ali Pasha is located in the tekke rooms. The madrasah, which was used as a dormitory for a short time after its restoration in 1964.

The medrese was built between 1707 and 1708, under the auspices of the grand vizier Çorlulu Ali Pasha to Sultan Ahmet III. The medrese continues to keep his name alive through the ages. Originally built as a medrese, or theological school, it also served as a Qadiri Sufi tekke, or dervish lodge. When all the Sufi orders were closed after the beginning of the republic, this tekke’s doors closed too. The cells that had once housed religious students and dervishes were rented out to shoe makers.

During the 1960s and early 1970s it was converted into student dormitories. In the mid-1970s its current incarnation began as it became a local center for carpet sellers and restorers.

Madrasah was later transformed into shops selling tourist souvenirs. Foreign and domestic tourists who like hookah prefer to visit the structure. When you visit, you should drink a cup of grilled Turkish coffee for recalling the mosque for 40 years. Situated on the tramway street, just before the Beyazıt stop, it is an oasis of calm, cool and quiet. The nargile garden has long been known as a favorite hang out for university professors and students alike.

Mixed in with the academia crowd one can also find tourists taking a break, carpet sellers idling away time as they wait for business, and the occasional movie star or musician relaxing in the vine-covered arbor. Robert De Niro was spotted casually puffing away one day in the not so distant past. French photographer Marc Riboud visited the medrese in the 1990s and did a photo shoot of the architecture and carpet repairers laboriously working away in the courtyard.

The second side of the medrese is often overlooked by tourists, but it draws carpet dealers, textile collectors and museum curators from around the world. While life in the first courtyard revolves around the leisurely pace of the tea garden, this part of the complex is centered on carpets and kilims, flat woven rugs. The restorers in this area are known worldwide for their exacting work. In nice weather you can find them huddled over carpets spread out in the courtyard next to the small mosque.

Tomb
After the Grand Vizier Ali Pasha was executed in 1711 on Midilli Island, buried in a tomb located within the complex. Tombstones dating from Ottoman Empire draw your attention. You will admire to the Çorlulu Ali Pasha Mosque absolutely.

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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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RUMİ MEHMET PASHA MOSQUE

Üsküdar - Istanbul - Turkey

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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