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The reign of Siileyman marks the end of
Ottoman Empire's advancement period. Siileyman reigned for 46
years and during these years the Ottomans developed a good deal
in the fields of literature, science and art. Architect Sinan
(1490-1588) is said to have worked using no plans. During his
career, he had constructed nearly 400 hundred buildings. He was
a son of a non-Muslim family from Kayseri. He was recruited and
taken into the palace when 22. He worked as a janissary for 19
years and became an architect when his talent in architecture
was discovered. He had similarities with Michelangelo, the
Italian artist and also constructed many works outside the
country, such as a madrasah in Mecca and a mosque in Budapest.
The construction of the mosque and complex
was completed in 7 years. During the first 3 years,
approximately 3-000 workers are said to have dug and paved a
foundation to 6-7 m. depth. According to the construction
reports of those days, 5.723 workers (of these 1.713 are Moslems,
3.523 Christians) completed the construction in 2.7 million
working days. The cost of the mosque is $60 million today.
The size and height of the dome Suleymaniye
mosque is less than the Hagia Sophia's, but in terms of its
general architectural elegance and size of the complex built in
integrity with the mosque is much superior than all the
buildings built before and after Suleymaniye. Usually non-Moslems
were settled in this valuable region which is on the third of
seven hills within the city walls. The mosque is at the slope of
this hill facing the Golden Horn. As Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue
Mosque) was built over the ruins of the Old Byzantine Palace,
Suleymaniye was also built over the Old Ottoman Palace, which
was the residence of the Ottomans for a while after the conquest
of the city.
This mosque that Sinan explains as his 'stage
of learning' was constructed in the middle of a garden of 200 x
140 m. In front of it, there is courtyard with colonnades and at
the back, a large graveyard in which the tomb of Siileyman and
his wife, Hurrem Sultan, are burried in. There is the
Suleymaniye Complex around this garden. The architect of this
complex is also Sinan. The complex surrounding the mosque with
single-floor buildings seems as a separate city. Madrasahs,
giving intensive religious education, were the most important
departments of the complex The bazaar under the madrasahs hosts
tourist shops. The old name of this building was the Tiryakiler
Bazaar where opium users used as a domicile in the past. The
Dar-u§ §ifa (hospital), the Charity Establishment and the
Caravansary are in front of the courtyard, west of the mosque.
Today, the architectural characteristics of these buildings are
neglected since they are used for purposes other than their
original construction aim. Problems, especially those arose due
to the geographic irregularities, during the construction of
complex buildings were settled with the aesthetic architectural
solutions of Sinan. During the Ottoman period, 800 employees
used to work in this large complex. The big courtyard in the
center of the complex has 11 entrances. There are ablution
fountains at the southern wall of the mosque. The front
courtyard at the western part of the mosque has 3 entrances.
This courtyard is surrounded with a portico formed of 10 white,
12 pink and 2 porphyry columns (total 24) and which is roofed
with 28 domes. All of these granite and marble
columns were brought from the Katisma (emperor's lodge) in the
Hippodrome Square. The weight of the each granite column is
estimated to be 11 tons, and that of marble ones are thought to
be 4 tons. The Arabic script on the tile panels above the
windows facing the front courtyard are verses from the Koran,
praising the conquests. The reason they are
located here because the mosque was constructed with the revenue
obtained from the conquest of Hungary At the center of the front
courtyard is a rectangular fountain resembling Caaba.
The mosque has 4 minarets. Of these, two has two balconies and
the other two has three. It has been said that Siileyman the
Magnificent wanted ten minaret balconies to remind that he was
the 10th emperor of the Ottoman Empire. The heights of the
higher minarets are 74 m. Sinan began the construction of this
mosque when he was 69, after having completed §ehzade Sultan
mosque which he calls as his work of apprenticeship. The mosque
covers an area of approximately 4.500 m2 and its dimensions are
57 x 60 m. If 1 m2 of area is presupposed per capital, the total
space of prayer for 5.000 people is available. Suleymaniye
mosque is the 2nd largest mosque after Sultanahmet Mosque.
The architectural plan of Suleymaniye Mosque resembles that of
Hagia Sophia. The main dome is 50 m. high and its diameter is
26,5 m. It was built over 4 large columns and supported with 2
semi-domes in western and eastern directions.
There are two large arches supported with two red granite
columns in the north and two in the south. Each of these columns
is 9 rn. high, of 1,4 m. diameter and weighs 30 tones. One of
these columns was brought from Zeus temple in Baalbek of Lebanon,
the second from Alexandria, the third from Vefa district in
Istanbul and the last from Topkapi Palace surroundings.
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These columns are said to symbolize
the first four caliphs of Islam. The weight of the dome
is approximately 1.000 tons. There are 32 windows around
the dome and a total of 136 in the mosque. The diameters
of the semi-domes under the central dome are 23 m. and
their heights are 40 m. The decoration of the mosque has
been given the same importance as the appearance of the
exterior parts. The stainglasses were prepared by Sarhoş
(Drunk) Ibrahim who was the famous glass craftsman of
the time. The plates, in which the names of the
important persons of Islam and verses from the Koran
inscribed, were prepared by a famous artist, named |
Hasan
(Jelebi. The black dye used in the background of these
plates were obtained from the soot of oil-lamps in the
mosque. The soot was directed to certain points with the
aid of air current and recycled. During the reign o
Sultan Abdulmecid, a Swiss architect wa» invited for the
restoration of Hagia Sop1 and some other mosques. But he
damaged the original reliefs of the mosque and oil
painted the main columns. During the comprehensive
restorations in 1957 during the 400th anniversary of the
mosque's opening to prayer, ornaments similar to
original ones were remade.
The muezzins lodge and the niche is built out
of white marble. The colored glasses and windows are original
handicrafts of the 16th century. One of the most important
features of the mosque is it-fabulous acoustics. The oil lamps
hang low, close to the ground in order to burn easily and for
better illumination. The black round objects, hanging among the
oil lamps, are ostrich eggs. The scent of these eggs, that were
boiled by adding different kinds of spices and plants, prevent
spiders in the mosque. The graveyard.at the
back courtyard of the mosque seems as a Open Air Museum for
tombstones.. The tombstones of this graveyard, which belong to
the burials of elite members of the palace are valuable and
elegant as works of art. There are tombstones both at the head
and foot of each grave. The graves were prepared with an angle
of to the khiblah (Mecca). Siileyman the
Magnificient died in 1566 and was buried in a tomb in the middle
of this graveyard. His tomb is exactly in back of the main niche
of the mosque, therefore, one who prostrates to God during the
prayer symbolically prostrates to him also. The dome over the
octagonal tomb is supported by 28 columns. There are 8
sarcophagi inside, three of which belong to the sultans Near the
tomb of Siileyman the Magnificent is the tomb of Hurrem Sultan,
his wife. She was the daughter of a Russian priest and mother of
Selim II. She is renowned with her interventions in the state
affairs. Her original name was Roxelan, her
influence caused Siileyman to have his own son Mustafa and grand
vizier Ibrahim Pasa, murdered. Hurrem, also, interrupted with
state affairs which would later influence the Ottoman history.
The walls of her tomb are also ornamented with Iznik tiles. The
tomb of Sinan is at the northwest part of the graveyard. It is a
masterpiece of engraving and architecture but it is not showy.
It is open to visit only on the 9th of April, 'Anniversary'.
This tomb is the signature of his splendid work. |
