Historically the establishment of the Ottoman Empire from a small emirate in the era of Anatolia was next to the Seljuk emirates, led by the Roman Seljuks.
When the Seljuks and Byzantines were weak in the 13th century, the Turks encouraged the two countries and that was the birth on the Ottoman Great Empire between 1299-1918 AD
After that the Ottoman state headed after it included other countries towards the Arab world, and ruled the Mamluks in Syria, Egypt and Hijaz and took Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and then Baghdad.
in Europe the Ottoman Empire included Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, part of Poland and Russia. Where Islam spread in parts of Bosnia, Herzegovina, Macedonia.
Thus the Ottoman Empire became the largest and most powerful empire in the world.
Architecturally ; Because of its containment of the most important cities and capitals of Arab cities such as Cairo, Damascus , Jerusalem and Baghdad it resulted in a large architectural diversity and prosperity , And this is shown in the construction of mosques and religious and cultural complexes that include the mosque, school, hospital, cultural gatherings and many more
The buildings built over the past 6 centuries by the Ottoman Empire (a period not enjoyed by any Muslim country) are a huge heritage, mostly in Anatolia and some Arab countries (most of Europe was destroyed)
general look :
The mosques from the outside seem to be very large and high, high above the surface of the earth or above a market or shops that ascend to them in many stairs
the photo above shows domes and semi-domes are seen around the central dome of the (mother dome).
The heights in this cluster are characterized by consistency and harmony, interspersed with other forms and elements such as windows, arches and colonnades .
The minarets start abruptly through the block with fine texture, multiple balconies and a conical flour head
Architectural elements:
1- The domes:
The dome is the main element in the roofing , its a large central dome and semi-domes and small domes around or branch out of it , the shape of the dome is Spherical below the hemisphere slightly covered with marble sheets from the outside and cylindrical dome slightly tilted towards the cone with a large number of windows separated by prominent pillars.
2- Arches :
The main major arches were of the tapered type (drawn from two centers).
Use the Persian arch (drawn from 4 centers) and the upper arches are concave outward.
Half-circle nodes and nodes (less than half a circle) are used in doors and above windows.
in Borsa (a city in Turkey) appeared in a contract consisting of a straight strip in the most expensive and two brackets on both sides (example: the Mosque of Yashil). as the photo below :
Columns:
Columns are made of marble or stone, and were used to carry the arches of the paths and secondary arches in the prayer hall.
Minarets:
During the Ottoman Empire Minaret in Arabic (Ma’athen) are not as square or polygonal as in previous decades, its cylindrical ones as originally Seljuk , Higher and agility With many faces with Multiple balconies , Ends with a fine conical head, coated with lead.
Doors and windows:
Doors / gates leading to the mosque or the prayer hall are regular in proportion to the height of the facades and lower than the facade itself , Increase in side (Mihrab) .
doors and windows was full of Inscriptions ,patterns ,ornaments and stalactites
golden written decorations and ornaments (as in Seljuk) , special decoration were in the gates of HARAM
Windows / Mostly similar topped by a circular or tapered arch,stucco inscriptions with colored glass
Mosques in Arabic (Masjid): mosques were -in the first phase – Before the conquest of Constantinople greatly influenced by the planning of the Roman Seljuks in Anatolia (small size, square hall with one dome topped by a gallery instead of the hall). Example Yildirim mosque in Borsa- Turkey
and yisil mosque
The second phase for mosques in the Ottoman Empire was after the conquest of Constantinople In 1453 the Ottomans converted the church of St. Sophia (Hagia Sofia), which dates back to the fifth century AD to a mosque after minor modifications.
The most important features of Hagia Sophia The huge central dome in the center of the building which is most important influence on the architecture of the Ottomans after the opening of Constantinople in addition to the semi-domes surrounding the central dome.
A giant diagonal dome of 31 m Diameter and a height of 55.92 m, the largest dome until that time , The Ottomans wanted to compete in the domes of their mosques, accept the idea of domes because they fit the architecture of the Roman Seljuks, which is characterized by domes and suitable for covering the square shape
The third Phase was the era of architect Sinan (Mimar Sinan) and his students
this Architect was unique, distinctive, talented and highly skilled compared to people at his time in the 16th century AD Sinan aged 4 Sultans and built 350 buildings.
Al-Khasrafiyah Mosque in Aleppo The first work of Sinan (which is modest compared to the projects later carried out in Istanbul)
one of the very special mosques to me is Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul i’ve seen nowhere such beauty i leave you with the photos :
at the end i hope that you enjoyed this post feel free to leave comments and to follow my blog …
yours ………..Archdoodz 🙂
Architecture Lovers 