Haseki Sultan Complex

Haseki Sultan Complex
Haseki Hürrem Sultan Külliyesi
Basic information
Location Avrat Pazarı neighbourhood, Fatih district, Istanbul, Turkey
Geographic coordinates 41°0′30.8″N 28°56′30.6″E / 41.008556°N 28.941833°E / 41.008556; 28.941833Coordinates: 41°0′30.8″N 28°56′30.6″E / 41.008556°N 28.941833°E / 41.008556; 28.941833
Affiliation Islam
Architectural description
Architect(s) Mimar Sinan
Architectural style Ottoman
Completed Mosque: 1538–39 (second dome added in 1612–13)
Madrasa: 1539–40
Soup-kitchen: 1540–41
Hospital: 1550–51
Specifications
Dome dia. (inner) 11.3 m
Minaret(s) 1
Elevations and plans published by Cornelius Gurlitt in 1912

The Haseki Sultan Complex (also Hürrem Sultan Complex) (Turkish: Haseki Hürrem Sultan Külliyesi) is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque complex in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first royal project designed by the chief imperial architect Mimar Sinan.

History

The mosque complex was commissioned by Haseki Hürrem Sultan, the wife of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She had married the sultan around 1534 and probably used her dowry to finance the project.[1] The buildings were designed by the architect Mimar Sinan. It was his first imperial project and it is possible that some elements were planned by his predecessor.[2]

The complex contained a Friday mosque, a soup-kitchen (imaret), a madrasa, an elementary school (mektep) and a hospital (darüssifa).[2] The large complex was built in several stages on either side of a narrow street. The mosque was completed in 1538–39 (AH 945), the madrasa was completed a year later in 1539–40 (AH 946) and the soup-kitchen in 1540–41 (AH 947). The hospital was not completed until 1550–51 (AH 957).[2]

Description

The simple mosque is constructed with alternating courses of stone and brick and has a single-galleried minaret. The portico has five arches with five small domes supported by six thin marble columns. Originally the prayer-hall was covered by a single dome with a diameter of 11.3 meters.[3] In 1612–13, during the reign of Ahmed I, the mosque was enlarged to accommodate an increased congregation. A second dome was added and the prayer hall was doubled in size.[2] The painted decorations on the dome are not original. Unlike the madrasa and the soup-kitchen, the mosque lacks any cuerda seca tile-work.[3]

The hospital has an octagonal courtyard and is the only building in the complex with an ashlar construction.[3] The carved stone inscription over the entrance from the street is a chronogram in Turkish giving the date of construction.[2] The madrasa is U-shaped around a central courtyard with 16 small cells and a lecture hall.[4] The soup-kitchen is also arranged around a courtyard. The cooking area at the northern end has four octagonal chimneys.[5] A surviving account book shows that there were originally tiled lunette panels above six of the windows.[6]

The complex was restored in 2010–2012.[7]

References

Sources

  • Alioğlu, E. Füsun; Olcay, Aydemir; Sünnetçi, Ebru (2012). Haseki Hürrem Sultan Külliyesi 2010-2012 Yılları Restorasyonu (PDF). Vakıf Restorasyon Yıllığı (in Turkish). 4. Istanbul: Turkish Government, Istanbul Region. pp. 17–29. ISSN 2146-3166.
  • Goodwin, Godfrey (1971). A History of Ottoman Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27429-0.
  • Necipoğlu, Gülru (2005). The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-86189-253-9.
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