Author
Architect: Master builder Simon the Greek. Calligraphers: Ali Efendi from Bursa, Muhammad Rasim, Fakhr al-Din Yahya, and Sayyid Abdel Halim.
Author Original
المعمار معلم البناء سيمون اليوناني الخطاطون علي أفندي من بورسة، ومحمد راسم، وفخر الدين يحي، وسيد عبد الحليم
Publication Date
1169 / 1755
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;tr;Mon01;35;ar
Library Location
Istanbul, Türkiye
Date
1169 / 1755
Notes
Nuru Osmaniye Mosque occupies the central location among the other buildings of the complex, which are the school, the soup kitchen, the library, the shrine, the water fountain, and the reservoir, in addition to the shops that surround these buildings. The mosque is considered the most important Baroque model in Ottoman architecture. In preparation for its construction, Sultan Mehmed I brought church plans from Europe. He also employed a Greek architect named Simon, who ordered the construction of a similar building, but the plans could not be followed due to opposition from the clergy. Due to the topography of the site, the mosque was built over a basement and the mosque is entered from the top of a wide, high staircase. The square prayer hall was built according to the classical plan, and is covered by a dome with a diameter of 25.75 m. The rectangular courtyard that preceded the prayer hall in traditional Ottoman mosques was replaced by a polygonal courtyard. The courtyard contains arcades, but does not contain a water fountain or fountain. Another important feature of the building is the polygonal shape of the mihrab and the pattern of covering it with a dome. At the eastern and western ends of the corridor for those arriving late, two minarets stand out, each with two balconies and a stone end. Each of the two porticoes adjacent to the eastern and western facades of the prayer hall includes a colonnade, open from its southern end to the prayer hall. The eastern corridor was a cabin for the Sultan that could be entered via a staircase. The interior section is surrounded by high colonnaded corridors extending along the eastern, western and northern walls. There are architectural ornaments decorating the sides of the marble mihrab and pulpit. The dome, which rests on the surface of a four-cornered canopy and dominates the entire building, rises with great fluidity. Among the new innovations in Ottoman architecture are the huge main arches that were connected to the corners by wavy lines, as well as the method of supporting the minaret balconies with circular supports instead of muqarnas. The abundance of cornices with architectural moldings, the use of curved lines to connect the corners, and the buttresses placed on top of each other in the walls are all associated with European architecture. This building, entirely clad in marble, is richly decorated. Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the mosque is the replacement of traditional elements with newly adopted Western elements. It replaced the classical patterns of arches and column capitals. There is an excessive use of circular and wavy arches, eaves, curved and spiral components in the shape of the letters C and S, rounded drawings and various relief works. Inside the mosque we see distinctive inscriptions written by famous calligraphers of that era. Nuru Osmaniye Mosque is considered one of the most important buildings in the Ottoman-Bar-Key style. It occupies a distinctive place in Ottoman architecture due to its absence of a sink, the use of a polygonal courtyard and the vaulted domain of the mihrab, while remaining faithful to the traditional plan of a single-domed prayer hall.
Sample Text
"Nur Osmaniye Mosque" who discovered Islamic art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;tr;Mon01;35;ar
