Discuss the three imperial mosques designed by the architect Sinan in Istanbul.

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Naomi Powell

Discuss the three imperial mosques designed by the architect Sinan in Istanbul.

 

Sinan is without doubt the most famous Ottoman architect, and some even say he is the most famous architect in the entire Islamic world, though one thing is certain, and that is that Sinan was the key architect of his time. Sinan lived during the golden age of the Ottoman Empire, and was recruited as a boy from his birthplace in Greece as a soldier, and it was in the military that Sinan first began learning about architecture. During his lifetime, Sinan designed over one hundred buildings and was well known for placing his stamp on entire cities (Hillenbrand, 1999: 264), including the city that was the hub of the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul.

In the 1540s Sinan received his first Sultanic commission from Suleyman I, who wished for a mosque and surrounding complex to be built in the memory of his eldest son, Sehzade Mehmed, who had recently passed away (Necipoglu, 2005: 191). This funerary complex was to be built around Sehzade Mehmed’s existing mausoleum, which had been built in 1543, located between the main ceremonial avenue, named Divanyolu, and the Valens aqueduct (Necipoglu, 2005: 196). This location, in central Istanbul, was to become a key part of the glorious city skyline visible from the harbour it encompasses. This was an apprentice work of Sinan’s, and though he used the concept of the centralized dome, Sinan made no attempt to excel Hagia Sofia, the largest domed roof in Istanbul (Goodwin, 1971: 207). This suggests Sinan knew what he was capable of, and would rather build a good quality building with a smaller dome well than attempt anything spectacular so early in his career. The floor plan of the main mosque at Sehzade comprises mainly of two almost identically sized squares, fronted by a courtyard with two minarets. It is at Sehzade where one of Sinan’s key recurring styles is born, the use of one large dome flanked by several smaller half-domes, which had not been seen before in Ottoman architecture, and is often compared to Italian Renaissance churches (Necipoglu, 2005: 196). Four huge piers hold up the main dome, though from the interior, these piers appear light and blend in to the rest of the interior through both their colouring and the fact that they are fluted, making the large dome seem weightlessly suspended. The half-domes surrounding the main dome are not only supportive of some of its weight, but are also attractive and make the room seem even more spacious than it is. The four piers are topped on the outside of the mosque by four more, smaller domes, which compliment the main dome and the half-domes beautifully, and create a flowing line from the top to the bottom of the building. This style of proportion is almost pyramid-like and displays great fluidity, an important part of much of Sinan’s work. This kind of fluidity is further displayed in the interior of the Sehzade mosque, where the space is unified and epitomises the concept of centralisation (Necipoglu, 2005: 198), which fits well with Istanbul’s role at the centre of the Ottoman Empire at the time. Another key technique of Sinan’s is the use of many windows, which is apparent at Sehzade, where several tiers of windows line the walls. This makes the huge room light and airy, as well as providing interesting decoration. On the qibla wall the windows are made with stained glass, showing this wall’s importance over the others, which is furthered by numerous inscriptions from the Koran, the Islamic holy text. The entire complex is a massive achievement and shows what a promising architect Sinan was, even during his apprentice stages.

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The next extremely important building assigned to Sinan was also for sultan Suleyman I, though this time the building he desired was for himself. Upon realising he was not going to live forever, Suleyman decided he needed an imperial mosque and sent for his chief architect Sinan (Goodwin, 1971: 215). Work began on Suleymaniye in 1550, and despite its size, took less than seven years to complete, during which time two Ottoman military campaigns against the Safavids took place (Necipoglu, 2005: 207). Sultan Suleyman had a desire to build an unmatched complex for his imperial mosque, and to create such ...

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