Mimar Sinan Mosque is a mosque built by Mimar Sinan as his own endowment. Located in the Fatih district of Istanbul, the mosque suffered significant damage in the Fatih fire of 1918. Only its minaret and walls remained. Over time, the mosque’s land has been subjected to shantytown development.
Mimar Sinan Architecture
After the Battle of Malazgirt (1076), the province of Kayseri, renowned for its exceptional examples of Seljuk architecture, religious, social, and cultural works, matured through construction activities at the Istanbul Acemi oğlanları organization; Sinan, who became the Chief Architect after serving as a Janissary officer, has often been evaluated through his monumental structures, with a particular emphasis on the studies of dome architecture as a spatial element.
Şahhuban Sıbyan Mektebi and Sinan Mosque
Sinan initially implemented a combined summer and winter school plan under a cover at the Şahhuban Sıbyan School in Yenibahçe, Istanbul, which he later adopted for the mosque he constructed.
The differences in the dimensions and workmanship of the stones used in both structures indicate that the school was built first, followed by the tomb. Mimar Sinan applied this original plan, which he implemented in the Şahhûbân primary school, to his own mosque as well.
The different plan of Sinan’s mosque did not escape the eye of C. Gurlitt, who evaluated it in his book with the plan and the drawing technique. Otherwise, we would have no way of knowing this characteristic of the mosque, which was lost in the 1917 Fatih fire, leaving only its typical minaret and fountain.
Sinan’s summer and winter mosque, built without a balcony, and its characteristic minaret, which the public calls the Devil’s Minaret: our research has yielded the result that Sinan constructed six minarets of this type, that is, without a balcony.
In the classical era of Ottoman architecture, the design of the minaret without a balcony is an invention of Mimar Sinan, and after trying various types, he constructed the most beautiful and magnificent one for his own mosque. Even if a mosque built in the classical era has a minaret without a balcony, and lacks an inscription, specific records about the year it was built or the era of the patron, a judgment can be made that it belongs to Sinan.
Mimar Sinan Mosque Today
Mimar Sinan Mosque has not been able to return to its former state after the great fire it endured. Today, it exists in the form seen in the photo below. It continues to be used as a mosque. However, there is no trace of the form designed and built by Mimar Sinan. It persists as a structure whose original state could not be preserved.
Source: Architecture Journal, SALT Research
