Professor Selçuk Mülayim, who teaches art history at Marmara University, rolled up his sleeves to examine the newly renovated wonder of İstanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque.
He found the job the renovation team had done at the architectural wonder, which adorns the city’s silhouette, praiseworthy and noted that the renovation should not stop at the mosque, but be extended to the entire mosque complex, explaining, “Even if someone does not believe in anything, they’d worship the Süleymaniye.” So let’s begin our tour of this grandiose structure.
The Süleymaniye Mosque was unveiled following its most comprehensive restoration ever in its 454-year history as part of the ongoing İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture events.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe likens architecture to frozen music. The Süleymaniye Mosque, which is described by its architect, Mimar Sinan, as his “architectural masterpiece,” is adorned with fine stonework, and Sinan surely continues to be an inspiration with his beliefs and futuristic vision.
The Süleymaniye Mosque was unveiled in all its splendor following its most comprehensive restoration ever in its 454-year history as part of the ongoing İstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture events. Mülayim, who has written many books on Ottoman architecture, most notably “Ters Lale: Osmanlı Mimarisinde Sinan Çağı ve Süleymaniye” (Inverted Tulip: The Sinan Era in Ottoman Architecture and the Süleymaniye), “Sinan ve Çağı ile Bir Şaheser Süleymaniye Külliyesi” (A Masterpiece with Sinan and his Era, the Süleymaniye Complex), says the main principle in restoration is minimal intervention. “Renewing everything is against the idea of restoration and historical architecture,” he said, nodding in approval of the work done in the Süleymaniye Mosque, which was built on the historic peninsula in 1558.
‘A person who believes in nothing will worship the Süleymaniye’
This, the second largest mosque in İstanbul, is not just a place of worship. There is more to it, Mülayim explains. Had it only been a place of worship, Sinan would have simply built the mosque on a very large piece of land and not used so much craftsmanship. “Sinan’s works are different from Ottoman conquest works and are more effective. A non-Muslim, an agnostic who comes here is simply in awe. The Süleymaniye has a force of its own. Someone who does not believe in anything will worship the Süleymaniye because the structure has an incredibly magnetic effect,” he says.
Mülayim explains that few changes were made and that an overall good cleaning and polishing up of the building took place. The touchups were done while staying true to the original workmanship. “We can say that it’s successful because there was minimal intervention,” he notes.
Looking at the doors
“The doors were touched up. That’s great,” he adds and goes on to note that most of the doors are not originals but were replaced in the 1950s. The professor, while explaining that the mosque’s entrance doors are from the 16th century and that their refurbishing was done quite well, explains that “tile inscriptions resting on four large columns [supporting the dome] were found in the mosque and the renovation team decided it would be wrong to ruin the mosque in order to fully unveil them,” but adds that it might be a good idea to unveil a few for display purposes.
Also, deficiencies in the mihrab (a niche in the front wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca) have been fixed. The very top of the mosque contains writing with a yellow trim; this is more reflective of modern work, according to Mülayim, who says that it looks somewhat disconnected from the remainder of the mosque.
“If that part was originally without writing, it should have been left as such,” he says and notes that the Turkish tradition of donating frames — which are then hung inside — to mosques is something which is nice in essence but causes the cohesiveness of the mosque to be ruined. The historian also noted the absence of the rahle (lectern), the Quran and tespihs (prayer beads) the sultan gave to the mosque as a gift.
The Süleymaniye was originally surrounded by an incredible complex, complete with a hospital (darüşşifa), primary school, public baths (hamam), a caravanserai, four Quran schools (medrese), a school for the learning of hadith, a medical college and a public kitchen (imaret) which served food to the needy. Although many of them still stand today, the former imaret is now a noted restaurant while the former hospital now functions as a printing factory.
According to Mülayim, the hamam needs restoration as well. Sinan’s tomb, located just outside the mosque walls to the north of the structure, contains a fountain that been covered with cement. Mülayim explains that this is not right and notes that the fountain should be plated with lead instead.
Furthermore, the Seraskerlik (General Staff) building located next to the mosque as well as the back door of İstanbul University need to be cleaned up and highlighted. The university currently keeps the door out of use and tucked away as it wishes to deal with minimal inspection; however, “such a door cannot be kept away from the spotlight,” Mülayim says.
There are restaurants selling kuru fasulye (dried beans) right outside the courtyard of the mosque. This, too, is an area that needs some touching up. Mülayim laments that shops can hang labels and signs as they wish, something that ruins the overall aesthetics of the complex, resting on the third hill of İstanbul. The professor adds that the water fountains are in need of work as well and that merchants place random bags of fruit, bags and illuminated signs in the area as they wish, but that this should not be allowed.
In terms of restoration, Mülayim notes that we look to Bursa, whom he says is “very successful in this realm.”
As for the tombs, well…
The Süleymaniye complex also contains a number of tombs, including that of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Mülayim is most saddened by the status of these tombs. In the past they were pained in a cream color all over in order to appear “clean,” but following restorations then involved heavy scrubbing, he said. In the past, a wooden hut was even built at the entrance of the tombs for caretakers to lounge in and he once witnessed a nail screwed into a tile so that pants could be hung. “Can you imagine hanging pants in the tomb of a sultan who ruled the world?” he asked, pointing out that the interior of tombs must remain as simple as possible and that the more recent habit of placing the Ottoman coat of arms must be done away with.
On the issue of lighting
Large, round chandeliers that are hung in the middle of mosques are problematic, according to Mülayim. He says the original idea behind the illumination of the mosque was not to block the view of the place of worship, but to use small candles, wrapping them up in thin metal so that the inside of the mosque could be visible.
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