Born in 1489 in Kayseri, Sinan is known by the nickname “Koca Sinan” (Great Sinan). He was discovered during the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim and brought to Istanbul to be nurtured. At that time, Sinan was 22 years old and had already created various works in his village. He lived around Aksaray and Süleymaniye in Istanbul.
Sinan, who made his mark with his art in every corner of Anatolia, as well as in Mecca, Medina, Sofia, Aleppo, and Buda, is also known as the chief architect of humility. Sinan’s modesty, preferring to use pseudonyms instead of his name in the inscriptions of his works, is as important as his art and contributes to his beloved status.
The Chief Architect
Sinan, our greatest architect of all time, quickly developed his skills and left a significant mark on the brightest era of the Ottoman Empire. His real talent was honed through observations made during his travels. Sinan served as the chief architect during the reigns of three sultans: Selim II, Suleiman the Magnificent, and Murad III.
He joined the Ottoman army as an infantryman (Janissary). He served as a cavalryman (mounted Sekban) during Yavuz Sultan Selim’s campaigns in Iran and Egypt, and during Suleiman the Magnificent’s campaigns in Belgrade and Rhodes. Later, he participated in the Battle of Mohacs, the German Campaign, and the Campaigns of the Iraqayn, where he saw Tabriz and Baghdad. His work on a bridge over the Prut River in Black Bogdan within 13 days during one of the campaigns earned the sultan’s appreciation.
Furthermore, by repairing the dome of Hagia Sophia and constructing reinforced walls around it, he played a significant role in preserving the monument to this day.
His Architecture
Sinan was not only a genius architect but also a great scientist. His works contributed significantly to science with new applications in acoustics (sound science), soil studies, and fluid dynamics.
His original work in acoustics, especially in the interior and exterior designs of Süleymaniye, is noteworthy. The sound from the pulpit can be heard unchanged everywhere. Sinan achieved this by using smooth columns to minimize the reflection and weakening of sound.
Sinan is an art genius. He elevated Turkish architecture to an unparalleled level.
The great artist not only paid attention to technical precision in his works but also aimed to imbue them with beauty and aesthetics. He achieved aesthetic harmony with walls and elephant feet, and semi-domes around the large dome.
Sinan developed a distinctive Ottoman architectural style. The main feature of this style is the consistent use of domes as the covering element in buildings. The master craftsman pushed the possibilities of using domes to their limit. The most significant feature of this architecture is the novel style given to the dome. Although domes were used in Islamic, Byzantine, Roman, and Renaissance architectures, no architecture has endowed them with a central, unifying feature as Sinan’s works have.
His Works
Sinan has 375 known works. Some of these include 81 mosques, 51 small mosques (masjids), 55 madrasas (Islamic schools), 22 mausoleums, 3 hospitals, 8 bridges, 35 palaces, 20 caravanserais, and 46 baths.
Two significant works made Sinan famous: a bridge he built over a swamp during the Campaigns of the Iraqayn and the Hüsrev Pasha Complex in Aleppo. He was appointed as the chief architect after these works.
Three monumental works mark the stages of Sinan’s ascent after becoming the chief architect: the Şehzade Mosque in Istanbul as his apprenticeship work, the Süleymaniye Mosque as his journeyman work, and the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne as his masterpiece.
Journeyman Work: Süleymaniye Mosque
Sinan, referring to it as his journeyman period work, opened the Süleymaniye Mosque in 1557 with a ceremony attended by the sultan. The construction of the mosque, situated on one of Istanbul’s seven hills, took seven years.
The genius architect applied the two semi-domed plan, previously tackled in the Beyazıt Mosque and Hagia Sophia, here as well. He succeeded in constructing the largest dome in Istanbul after Hagia Sophia, with a diameter of 27 meters. In this work, Sinan created a different space by covering the side areas next to the central space, which is covered by a large dome, with five smaller domes of different sizes. He harmoniously integrated the central and side spaces.
Next to the mosque, there are four madrasas, a school, a hospital, an almshouse, a reading room, a medical madrasa, a library, a caravanserai, a bathhouse, and a fountain. In this state, it is the largest complex in Istanbul. The tomb of Mimar Sinan is located northeast of the complex.
Masterpiece: Selimiye Mosque
The inauguration of the Selimiye Mosque, which Sinan called “my masterpiece,” took place in 1574. The Selimiye Mosque, built by Mimar Sinan when he was in his 80s, made him one of the greatest architects in the world. In this magnificent work in Edirne, the Master exhibited all his innovations and the characteristics of Turkish architecture. The mosque, perched on a high hill visible from all parts of the city, has become a symbol of the Ottoman Empire.
Mimar Sinan combined two historical architectural traditions in the Selimiye Mosque. These are the domed and surrounded by a corridor (portico) and placed on a square plan dome. Here, Sinan also demonstrated the most masterful style of domed construction in architectural history. The dome of the mosque is in one piece with a height of 43 meters and a diameter of 31 meters. The dome is placed on a ring supported by eight columns.
The mosque is based on an octagonal plan scheme, and the dominance of the central dome is revealed. The mosque has four minarets with a diameter of 3.8 meters each. The minarets have three balconies and are 84 meters tall, including the crescents.
The balconies of the minarets on the right and left sides of the main entrance are reached by three different staircases. The other two minarets have a single staircase.
The artistic value of the written tiles in the mosque is very high. The mosque has 999 windows, adding a separate beauty to it. The work, listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, is not only a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture but also considered one of the finest architectural works in the world. The most prominent feature of the mosque is its spaciousness, that is, its grandeur. Elegance, beauty, and the brightness and spaciousness inside the mosque are among the significant characteristics of the work.
Source: Şaban Döğen, Müslüman İlim Öncüleri, Cilt 3, İstanbul: Muştu Yayınları, 2014.
