THE OTTOMAN RENAISSANCE: SINAN - Yaşar Üniversitesi · Mimar Sinan (c. 1489/1490 – July 17, 1588) built mosques, bridges, aqueducts, madrasas, caravanserais, palaces, kiosks and

THE OTTOMAN RENAISSANCE: SINAN

SINGLE-DOME MOSQUES

FIRST CAPITAL: Iznik (1299-1335)

Green Mosque, Iznik, 1378-91

Single domed-square unit, Cut stone and brick, Brick minaret glazed with tiles

Green Mosque, İznik, 1378-91


rear facade and door details


mihrab and minbar

MULTI-DOMED MOSQUES

(also known as “ULUCAMİ”)

İsa Bey Mosque, Selçuk, 1374


NOTE: Corinthian capitals


detail of upper window

Ulucami, Bursa, 1396-1400



entrance


central courtyard and dome


mihrab and minbar

“INVERTED T” MOSQUES

Prayer Halls and Zaviye (lodging for dervishes)

Orhan Bey Mosque, Bursa, 1339

side rooms for teaching and guests

of the dervishes to stay


mosque and “han” courtyard


main entrance


http://www.3DMekanlar.com/tr/bursa-orhan-gazi-camii.html

Ishak Paşa Mosque, İnegöl, 1482

Bayezid Pasha Mosque, Amasya, 1414

Architect: Abu Bekir bin Mehmed Museymes of Aleppo

BURSA

(OTTOMAN CAPITAL 1335-1421)

Imaret system as the basis of architectural patronage.

Created as endowments accommodating two types of institutions:

1. Those founded with pious or charitable motives such as

mosque, madrasah, hospital, roads and bridges

2. Those that provided revenue tor their upkeep such as han,

market, caravanserai, bath house, mill, soup kitchen

Beyazıd I Complex, Bursa, 1390-95

(1) gate, (2) mausoleum, (3) madrasa, (4) site of royal garden palace, (5) mosque, (6) hospice,

(7) bathhouse, (8) gate, (9) wall, (10) aqueduct

Beyazıd I Mosque, Bursa, 1390-95

combination of a royal chapel with a hostel for pilgrims


madrasah exterior


madrasa courtyard


mausoleum


mausoleum interior

Koza Han, Bursa, 1481-90


entrance portal



raised masjid in the middle of the courtyard

E D İ R N E


Üç Şerefeli (three balconied) Mosque, Edirne, 1430-47

Complex of mosque, madrasah and imaret.

Students and dervishes can use the side entrance

without disturbing the prayers.

Note the hierarchy of domes.

Üç Şerefeli Mosque, Edirne, 1430-47

courtyard entrance and minaret detail

Üç Şerefeli Mosque, Edirne, 1430-47

mihrab and minbar

Beyazıd II Complex, Edirne, 1488

(1) mosque,

(2) hospice,

(3) caravanserai,

(4) hospital,

(5) madrasa,

(6) site of bathhouse

Beyazıd II Complex, Edirne, 1488

mosque (right) and hospital (left)

İSTANBUL


Fatih Complex, İstanbul, 1463-70

(1) Mosque of Mehmed II,

(2) mausoleums of Mehmed II and his

wife Gülbahar Sultan,

(3) formal garden,

(4) madrasas,

(5) preparatory madrasas,

(6) hospital,

(7) guesthouse,

(8) caravanserai,

(9) hospice,

(10) elementary school,

(11) library

Mosque of Mehmet II ın the Fatih Complex, İstanbul, 1463-70

Mosque of Mehmet II ın the Fatih Complex, İstanbul, 1463-70

Mausoleum of Mehmed II ın the Fatih Complex, İstanbul, 1463-70

Covered Bazaar, İstanbul, 15th century onwards

Mustafa Ağa and Simon Kalfa, Nuruosmaniye Mosque, Istanbul, 1748-55


Mustafa Ağa and Simon Kalfa, Nuruosmaniye mosque, Istanbul, 1748-55


“Baroque forms”

Krikor Balyan, Nusretiye Mosque, Istanbul, 1823-26

Krikor Balyan, Nusretiye mosque, Istanbul, 1823-26

(Sultan’s entry to a royal lodge above)

SINAN: THE CLASSICIST/ANTI-

CLASSICIST AND EXPERIMENTALIST

Joseph Paxton, “The Crystal Palace,” for the 1851 Great Exhibition, London, UK

interior views

SINAN: ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS

SINAN: ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS

Mimar Sinan (c. 1489/1490 – July 17, 1588) built mosques, bridges,

aqueducts, madrasas, caravanserais, palaces, kiosks and fountains.

Most common account of the steps in Mimar Sinan’s career:

The early years (till the mid-1550s) : apprenticeship period.

Mid-1550s to 1570: qualification stage.

The period from 1570 to his death: master stage.

According to Jale Erzen: “Sinan's mosques can, for purposes of

study, be divided into three quite distinct phases, which here will be

labeled pre-classical (1540-55), classical (1555-70), and anti-

classical (experimentalist) (1570-85).

Pre-Classical Period: these mosques “ present a clear definition of

Sinan's intentions in structure and form-making which find their fully

developed expression in the Süleymaniye mosque. Those intentions

can be defined as (1) balancing all the parts, (2) making those parts

subservient to the hierarchic order, and (3) making that hierarchic

order in turn fully dependent on the arrangement of the cover system.”

SINAN: PRE-CLASSICAL BUILDINGS

Classical Period:

“Although the relationships between the two- dimensional shapes are

complex, the organization is based on the interplay of volumes. The

same variety is seen inside, without, however, destroying the peace

and balance provided by the expanse and homogeneity of the space.

In Sinan's mosques of the classical period, although visual variety

can exist at the lower levels, the meaning of space is not rendered

through visual movement, but as one direct total encounter.

With the Süleymaniye, Ottoman architecture attained a sophistication

and maturity that represent the culmination of an effort to achieve a

balanced composition of structure and form.”

SINAN: THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

Mimar Sinan

Süleymaniye Complex, İstanbul, 1550-57

(1) mosque,

(2) mausoleum of Süleyman,

(3) mausoleum of Hürrem,

(4) Koran recitation school,

(5) public fountain,


(7) (8) madrasa,

(9) remains of medical school,

(10) hospital,

(11) hospice,

(12) guesthouse,

(13) Mimar Sinan's tomb with domed sabil and

empty plot of his endowed school and

residence,

(14) the janissary agha's residence,

(15) & (16) madrasa,

(17) bathhouse,

(18) hadith college,

(19) madrasa

Mimar Sinan, Süleymaniye Complex, İstanbul, 1550-57



courtyard portal

Mimar Sinan, Süleymaniye Mosqsue, İstanbul, 1550-57

courtyard and interior


guest housing


medical school

Hagia Sophia (532-537) and Süleymaniye (1550-57)

“Architects in Christian countries may rank themselves above Muslims in technical skill, owing to the failure of the

latter to achieve anything approaching the dome of Hagia Sophia. This assertion of insurmountable difficulty has

wounded the author of these writings. However, with God’s help and the Sultan’s mercy, I have succeeded in

building a dome for Sultan Selim’s mosque which is four ells greater in diameter and six ells higher than that of

Hagia Sophia.”

Anti-Classical (Experimentalist) Period:

In these mosques, “ the auxiliary space extensions compete with the

central space. They attract the eye with their variety of vertical support

elements and the light that makes them as bright as the central area.

The continuity of space is also reduced by the contrast in height

between the side extension and the central space under the dome.

“The smooth transition from cover to body that created the pyramidal

silhouette and the continuous shell-like boundaries of the classical

organizations have here begun to disappear... In the hexagonal

structures, the outside walls become planar surfaces and grow taller.

The great contrast of height between the east and west portions and the

space under the dome is distinctive. The visual variety offered by the

unequal distribution of light, the lavish tile decoration, and the support

elements is new... Vaulting is used for ther first time.”

SINAN: THE PERIOD OF EXPERIMENTATION

SINAN: POST-CLASSICAL BUILDINGS

Mimar Sinan

Selimiye Complex, Edirne,

1569-75

(1) mosque,

(2) madrasa (hadith college),

(3) madrasa (Koran recitation

school),


(5) bazaar (arasta)

Mimar Sinan, Selimiye Complex, Edirne, 1569-75



mosque interior


muqarnas niche of mihrab

Documents

THE OTTOMAN RENAISSANCE: SINAN - Yaşar Üniversitesi · Mimar Sinan (c. 1489/1490 – July 17, 1588) built mosques, bridges, aqueducts, madrasas, caravanserais, palaces, kiosks and