摘要: Description　　Located to the east of the Covered (Grand) Bazaar, Fatih district in İstanbul, the Nuruosmaniye Complex consists of a mosque, madrasa, imaret (soup-kitchen), tomb, library and sebil (wate

Description

　　Located to the east of the Covered (Grand) Bazaar, Fatih district in İstanbul, the Nuruosmaniye Complex consists of a mosque, madrasa, imaret (soup-kitchen), tomb, library and sebil (water fountain) enclosed in an irregular walled-in precinct, and a han and some stores built in the vicinity. The construction of the Nuruosmaniye Complex began in 1749 during the rule of Sultan Mahmud I (1730-1754) and was completed by his brother and successor Sultan Osman III (1754-1757) in 1755. The name of Nuruosmaniye, the Light of Osman, refers to a verse from Koran "God is the light of the heavens and the earth", which is inscribed inside the dome of the mosque. Although there is some dispute about the identity of architect, it is agreed that the architect was Simeon Kalfa who was of Greek origin. The construction of the complex is documented in detail in a treatise (Risale) entitled Tarih-i Cami-i Serif-i Nur-i Osmani (History of the Blessed Nuruosmanîye Mosque), written by Bina Katibi Ahmed Efendi, the secretary of the building. This is a rare document on the specifics of the building and gives a detailed account of the organization of construction and information on the building process.

　　The complex is surrounded by a huge external courtyard with two entrances from the Grand Bazaar and Cagaloglu. The western gate, called Carsikapisi or bazaar gate opens into the covered bazaar with the sebil adjoining it. The mosque, oriented along the northwest-southeast axis, occupies the northwest corner of the precinct, which is raised above street level on a tall basement. Beside it, at the northeast corner, are the library and the tomb. The madrasa and the soup kitchen are housed in a single structure that projects beyond the southern precinct wall.

　　The exchange of artistic and technical models between the Ottoman cultural era and the rest of the world increased rapidly and extensively at the beginning of the eighteenth century. In the previous centuries, the Ottomans had been open to many aspects of European influence, but it was only after the 18th century that European architecture became overpowering. Besides the diplomatic relationships, the cultural activities of artists and travelers also played an important role in the expansion Western lifestyle. It was during this period that certain Neoclassical, Baroque, and Rococo forms gradually infiltrated the architectural landscape of Istanbul. European baroque and rococo forms penetrated the Ottoman architectural and decorative vocabulary mostly through ornamentation and façade compositions of a large number of secular buildings, such as palaces, pavilions, libraries, and especially public fountains built all over the capital. The Nuruosmaniye Complex is distinguished from its precedents with its most explicitly adoption of baroque design and decorative elements in a royal religious building.

　　A brief description of the major components of the complex is as follows:

　　Mosque

　　The mosque consists of a single domed prayer hall, preceded by a courtyard of comparable size to the northwest. The courtyard is entered through a main portal to the northwest and two side portals. It has a unique semi-elliptical shape created with the use of wedge-segments placed between nine domed bays. The elliptical horse-shoe shaped courtyard is a unique attempt of form to introduce the baroque into Ottoman architecture and a complete break with the traditional rectangular form. It is therefore considered to symbolize the building’s relationship with the European baroque. This space consists of a tall five domed portico and a revak of nine low domes except those over the north doors, into the court and into the mosque. The outside of the court does not have a perfect curvilinear form; the portico which surrounds the courtyard from the inside has a polygonal plan, starting from the entrance door. Slender columns with plain capitals and round arches create a rhythm and movement that is also closely related to the dynamic spirit of the baroque. The five-bay mosque portico completes the courtyard arcade and leads into the prayer hall through a central portal. The prayer hall is square with a semicircular mihrab apse and is crowned with a large dome. The dome over pendentives measures 25 meters in diameter rising 43.5 meters from the floor. It is supported by four slightly pointed tympana arches spanning between the corners and reinforced by weight towers.

　　With its domed square prayer hall and arcaded courtyard, the mosque was built in traditional mosque structure. However, the interior of the monument below the level of the cornice separating the dome and the lower structure is closer to European baroque palaces than to an Islamic house of God. The most striking spatial features of the mosque are the curved (horse-shoe shaped) courtyard and the placing of the mihrab in a polygonal niche.

　　There are wide galleries within the interior space of the mosque. The entrance and the two corners flanking the qibla wall and the galleries are widened to form balconies that project into the prayer hall carried on columns. The three-storey building on the eastern side of the mosque is the lodge of the sultan (Hünkar Kasrı) through which the ruler had access to the Hünkar Mahfili inside the main building. The Hünkar Kasrı was used as a place of rest and relaxation. It is accessed primarily by a ramp outside the mosque that allowed the sultan to ascend to his quarters on his horse. The tympana of the grand arches, equal in height to the galleries, are braced with smaller concentric arches that help strengthen the structure. At the qibla wall, the small arch is joined with the semi-dome that covers the mihrab apse. The building is generously fenestrated with elliptical windows in contrast to the rather introverted earlier mosque types. Sixteen windows in each tympanum light up the interior, in addition to the numerous casement windows at the ground and gallery levels. There are twenty-eight more windows at the base of the dome. With the exception of the casements, windows are made of interlacing pieces of colored and plain glass. The interior of the mosque is covered with gray marble panels up to the galleries where a thick structural cornice, inscribed with the Sura of Al-Fath. Below the gallery, calligraphic medallions crown each casement window. Inscriptions of the mosque were written by at least six different calligraphers. The extensive display of Koranic texts in the interior of the building is significant. The two fluted minarets each have double balconies that are supported on superposed circular rings and not on stalactite cornices.

　　Madrasa

　　The madrasa is adjoined to the imaret (soup-kitchen) and the two buildings stand on the other side of the street, isolated from the first courtyard. The madrasa is built on a traditional plan. It has twenty domed rooms and a large classroom enveloping an arcaded courtyard. The arasta consists of seventy five shops that are built under the terraces because of the slope of land where the complex is located.

　　Imaret (the soup-kitchen)

　　The soup-kitchen adjoins madrasa to the west and is about half the size of the madrasa. Entered through a domed entryway to the north, the soup-kitchen is organized around an inner courtyard that gives access to the kitchens to the south and a dining room to the west, with the madrasa wall bounding it to the east.

　　The Library

　　The library is a single-story building located in the second courtyard at the north-eastern corner built on a platform (fevkani), and is accessible by means of radiating staircases. It has a cross-plan with widely rounded corners and consists of an elliptical reading room enveloped by an arcade made of fourteen columns. The main room has a polygonal exterior shape and an elliptical interior surrounded by half domes and smaller domes that are supported by slender columns. The inside of the building is very elegant, brightly illuminated by a total of thirty windows at two levels, and furnished with rare and exquisite desks and seats for the readers. An additional storage room projects between the two staircases to the west; there is also a full basement. The reading room is covered by a dome flanked by two semi-domes, and the arcade spaces have cross vaults. Thirty windows, placed at two levels, illuminate the interior. The bulbous footprint of the library is enhanced on the exterior with the play of pilasters and moldings. It is a branch of the Süleymaniye Library today and contains personal collections of Mahmud I and Osman III with a total of 7600 volumes of which 5052 are manuscripts. The library as an individual building is also a novelty from the classical külliye configuration.

　　The Tomb

　　The tomb is located slightly to the south of the library. Although originally intended for Mahmud I, none of the two patrons was buried here and the building contains the body of Şehsuvar Sultan, mother of Osman III 168, and some crown princes since there are eleven tombs in the main room. The tomb is a single domed room, preceded by a three-bay domed portico to the west. Its exterior appearance is marked by the curved outline of the portico and the large weight turrets that flank the dome at its four corners.

　　The Sebil

　　The sebil has a noticeable architecture with its incredibly rich and organic shaped cornice profiles, the cartouches with their three dimensional design and inscriptions. Three concave massive marble blocks stand between the shallow pilasters of the skirt wall.