The most famous Turkish
architect. (B. May 29th, 1489, Ağırnas / Kayseri- D April 9th,
1588, Istanbul). He was also known as the Grant Mimar Sinan Ağa, Sinaneddin
Yusuf, Abdulmennanoğlu Sinan. He was
brought to Istanbul as a picked up boy for the Janissaries during the dynasty
of Padishah Yavuz Sultan Selim. (1512) He was chosen to be brought due to his
bright intelligence and dynamism. He was recruited for country services and
then he began to work in Acemi Ocağı (T.N. Beginner Society) and Guild of
Janissaries. He was aspired by
architecture and desired to build water channels and arches in yards and
gardens. He worked in the construction sites of shelters, fountains and tombs
with outstanding professionals of his era. He participated in the 1514
Chaldoran Battle and 1517 Egypt Campaign, respectively. He became a janissary
at dynasty of Kanunî Sultan Süleyman (Suleyman the Magnificient).
He was recruited in mounted troops in 1521 Belgrade Campaign and 1522 Rhodes Campaign.
After the pitched battle of Mohaç in 1526, he also crusaded in German Campaign
in 1532, Tabriz and Baghdad Campaigns in 1534. Having returned from these
campaigns, he was granted a “Haseki” position (personal servant of the Sultan).
In the Baghdad Campaign, he ensured the placement of cannons in the galleys via
which the transportation was made on the Van Lake during the Blockade of Van
Castle. Sinan who also crusaded in Korfu, Pulya (1537), and Moldavia (Kara Buğdan) (1538)
campaigns was appreciated by Kanunî Sultan
Süleyman (Suleyman the Magnificient) for fixing a bridge over Prut River in thirteen
days during the Moldova Battle.
Sinan
had the chance to examine architectural structures in Syria, Egypt, Iraq,
Persia, and Balkans as well as in Southern Europe extending to Vienna during
the battles he crusaded and he also designed various works of art. He met the most
famous architects of that era and master of Bayezid Mosque, Architect Hayreddin
in Istanbul. He was promoted to the position of Chief Architecture in 1538. Three
works he built before becoming head of architecture stand out. Namely, these
are the Halep Hüsreviye Külliyesi, Gebze Çoban Mustafa Pasha Külliyesi and Haseki Külliyesi (T.N.
Islamic social complexes) erected for Hürrem Sultan in Istanbul. Three works of
art he constructed after being the head of architecture are reflecting his
improvements in art. First of them is the Şehzadebaşı Mosque and Külliyesi. Located
in this complex there are also imaret (alms house), kitchen, caravanserai and a
madrasah separated with a street. On top of this, the Süleymaniye Mosque is the
most gorgeous work of Mimar Sinan in Istanbul. Great dome in twenty seven diameters
was situated in a quite dimensional and harmonic manner on the building rising
from the ground. Süleymaniye Mosque implies a fascinating architectural
structure with its pure and harmonic outlook indicating peace and nobility.
Süleymaniye Mosque and Külliyesi are composed of eight separate buildings and
served as a second university, first being the Fatih Mosque.
Edirne Selimiye Mosque
that he constructed at the age of eighty is the most beautiful work of Mimar
Sinan. The doom of this mosque is higher and deeper than the dome of Hagia
Sophia. Dome in thirty one and half meters of diameter was situated on an octagonal
body. Narrow minarets of this mosque have three parapets and allow climbing of
three individuals at the same time without seeing each other. He stated that
this mosque was his mastership work, in which he demonstrated his all skills.
Known
works of arts by Mimar Sinan include; 84 mosques, 53 small mosques,
57madrasahs, 7 darülkurra (a section in which Koran is recited in madrasah), 22
tombs, 17 imarets, 3 hospitals, 5 water channel arches, 8 bridges, 20
caravanserais, 35 palaces, 8 cellars, 48 Turkish baths, which are in total 364
pieces. People who made analysis on Mimar Sinan’s works stated that he had applied
all required and known measures against the earthquake studying precisely as if
he was a scientist. The ground mixture is one example to such measures. Thanks
to this material that was used only in the works of Sinan, seismic waves are
absorbed and neutralized. On the other hand his location preference for this
works also worth to note. He compressed the soil with piles to reinforce the
ground and erected retaining walls. Yet another measure taken by him was
allowing the foundation of Süleymaniye Mosque to settle down for six years so
that the foundation would be exactly situated on the ground.
Another
building type that reflects remarkable trials by Sinan is tombs. While the tomb
of Şehzade (Prince) Mehmet draws attention with its excessive ornamented side
and slotted dome, he used the double-sided dome, which was rarely used in
Turkish architecture, at the excellent looking tomb of Kanunî Sultan Süleyman
and he placed the inner dome on top of pillars and external dome on the external
walls. He used smoothed edge square-plan instead of traditional hexangular or
octagonal pattern for II. Selim’s tomb.
Mimar Sinan thoroughly
examined all works of arts he could see but he never imitated any of them. He
consistently improved and renewed his art. Columns, walls and other components
of his works are not wider than the required dimensions to enable them to
resist the load they bear. Detail-oriented
computing in all his architectural structures stands out as a characteristic
feature. Prior to the construction he used to arrange landscaping. Mimar Sinan is
also an urban-planning specialist. He had a great success in choosing the place
for his construction sites and located his work of arts in the most suitable
manner with the surroundings. Furthermore, he also established a sewerage
system called as drainage in his works. Drainage system was intended to
increase durability of the buildings through the protection of foundation
against water and humidity. Air channels which balanced cold and hot air were
by removing moisture and damp were used within the structure. Moreover, vapor discharge
channels were used in order to prevent input of steam generated by warming up of
water and soil during summer. Steam discharge and moisture channels were utilized
in combination with drainage channels. Monumental structures which draw
attention with robustness of their load-bearing elements and foundations which still
remain standing are important from an engineering viewpoint as well as
architecture. That is why; he was named as the “chief architect of the world”
and “engineer of the time”.
Today, several primary
and secondary schools and universities or other buildings, institutions, and
settlements in
The tomb of Mimar Sinan
is located in a triangle area at the opposite corner of former Ağalar Kapısı (T.N.
gate for guards of the Sultan) of the Süleymaniye Mosque. There is a fountain
made of solid marble in front of the tomb. In the small graveyard at the back
of the fountain, the corpse of Mimar Sinan lied in a tomb with six columns, top
of which is covered while sides are not surrounded. This tomb was constructed
by himself, a short while before his death. It was restored by Architect Vasfi
Egeli in 1933. Edges of his symbolic coffin as well as the wreathed quilted
turban placed on top of it are made of marble and the tomb might be viewed from
a barred window facing the street.
REFERENCE: Reşat Ekrem Koçu / Mimar Sinan (Sedat Çetintaş ile,
1936), Ahmet Refik / Türk Mimarları (1936), İbrahim
Alaeddin Gövsa / Türk Meşhurları (1946), Suut Kemal
Yetin / Türk Mimarisi (1970),Metin
Sözen / Anadolu Medreseleri (1970), Türk Mimarlığı’nın Tarihsel Gelişimi (1980)
- Yüzyılların Mimarı Sinan (Architect of Ages, 1988), Büyük Larousse
Ansiklopedisi (c: 13, s: 8189 – 8190, 1986), Ana Britannica (c: 19, s:
394-395-396, 1987), M. Kadri Atabaş / Türk Mimarları
(2000), Orhan Cezmi Tuncer / Diyarbakır Camileri (Diyarbakır BŞ
Belediyesi Kültür ve Sanat Yayınları, Ankara 1996), Sinan’ın Doğusu – Mimar
Sinan ve Diyarbakır (Diyarbakır Valiliği, tsz), Yrd. Doç. Dr. Mücahit Yıldırım
/ Diyarbakır Camileri ve Mimar Sinan Ekolü (Nebiler, Sahabiler, Azizler ve Krallar Kenti
Diyarbakır, 25-27 Mayıs 2009, Diyarbakır, s. 315-322), İhsan
Işık / Diyarbakır Ansiklopedisi (2013) - Ünlü Sanatçılar (Türkiye Ünlüleri
Ansiklopedisi, C. 5, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).