Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey
Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque
(
Turkish
:
Koca Mustafa Pa?a Camii
; also named
Sunbul Efendi Camii
) is a former
Eastern Orthodox
church converted into a mosque by the
Ottomans
, located in
Istanbul
, Turkey. The church, as the adjoining monastery, was dedicated to
Saint Andrew of Crete
, and was named
Saint Andrew in Krisei
or
by-the-Judgment
(
Greek
:
Μον? το? ?γ?ου ?νδρ?ου ?ν τ? Κρ?σει
,
Mon? tοu Hagiοu Andreοu en t? Krisei
). Although heavily transformed during both the
Byzantine
and the Ottoman eras, it is one of the few extant churches in Istanbul whose foundation goes back to the sixth century.
Location
[
edit
]
The building lies in the Istanbul district of
Fatih
, in the neighborhood of Kocamustafapa?a, along
Koca Mustafa Pa?a Caddesi
. It is placed inside the
walled
city, and not far from the church of
Saint John of Stoudion
, on the slopes of the seventh hill of
Constantinople
near the
sea of Marmara
.
History
[
edit
]
Byzantine period
[
edit
]
At the beginning of the 5th century, Princess
Arcadia
, sister of Emperor
Theodosius II
(r. 408?450), ordered the construction, near the Gate of Saturninus,
[1]
of a monastery dedicated to
Saint Andrew
. The building, named also
Rodophylion
(
Greek
:
Ροδοφ?λιον
) lay about 600 metres (2,000 feet) west of the gate.
[2]
The monastery was later converted into a nunnery, mentioned for the first time in 792. The monastery of Saint Andrew was known under the appellation "by-the-Judgment", after the place where it lay, named "the Judgment" (
? Κρ?σι?
,
h? Krisis
).
[3]
Saint Andrew of Crete
, a
martyr
of the fight against
Byzantine Iconoclasm
, killed on 20 November 766 in the
Forum Bovis
because of his opposition to the iconoclastic policies of Emperor
Constantine V
(r. 741?775), was buried there.
[4]
Due to his popularity after the final
triumph of Orthodoxy
, the dedication of the church changed from Saint Andrew the Apostle to him. During the second half of the ninth century,
Emperor
Basil I
(r. 867?886) wholly rebuilt the church, which possibly had been damaged during the iconoclastic fights.
Around 1284, Princess
Theodora Raoulaina
, niece of
Michael VIII Palaiologos
(r. 1259?1282) and wife of
protovestiarios
John Raoul Petraliphas
, rebuilt the monastery and the church, deserving the appellation of second
kt?torissa
. She spent the last fifteen years of her life in the monastery, and was buried there. Neglected during the
Latin occupation
of Constantinople, two Russian pilgrims visiting Constantinople in 1350 and between 1425 and 1450 mention the church, affirming that Saint Andrew was worshiped by many who were afflicted by sickness. At the beginning of the fifteenth century the surrounding area of the monastery was covered with vineyards, confirming the decline of the city.
[5]
Ottoman period
[
edit
]
After the Ottoman
conquest of Constantinople
the monastery, known by the Turks as
Kızlar Kilisesi
("women's church"), continued to be inhabited for a while. Between 1486 and 1491
Kapiciba?i
[6]
(and later
Grand Vizier
)
Koca Mustafa Pasha
, executed in 1512,
[7]
converted the church into a mosque.
[8]
Some years later, the building of the monastery was
endowed
by his son-in-law, ?eih Celebi Efendi as
Tekke
for the
Dervishes
of the
Halveti
order.
[5]
The dervishes were led at that time by the
Sufi
Master
Sunbul Efendi
. His
turbe
, a popular destination for
Muslim
pilgrims, lies next to the mosque, which is also named after him. At the beginning of the sixteenth century there were quarrels between Sultan
Selim I
and ?eih Celebi, since the sultan wanted to pull down part of the monastery to build the
Topkapı Palace
. He died in 1559 and his wife Safiye Hatun were both buried in a
turbe
in the yard of the mosque, near the turbe of Mustafa Pasha. Several Halveti Sheiks were buried in the cemetery behind the Mosque.
[5]
Also in this period was born the tradition related to a chain hung to a cypress tree. The cypress is since long dead but still stands - together with the chain - inside a small round building in the yard of the mosque. The chain was swung between two people who were affirming contradictory statements, and the chain was said to hit the one who was telling the truth.
[9]
This is one among many surviving folk tales concerning the mosque (like those about the
cifte Sultanlar
, the "twin Sultans"), all with Byzantine roots. They testify the merge between Ottoman and Greek popular culture and beliefs.
[10]
At the beginning of the 17th century,
Defterdar
(treasury minister) Ekmekcizade Ahmet Pa?a (d. 1618) let build a
Medrese
, the gates of the complex, a
zaviye
,
[11]
and a
mekteb
(school).
[12]
About one century later
Hekimba?ı
(Sultan's chief physician) Giridli Nuh Efendi (d. 1707) closed the Tekke and enlarged the Medrese,
[12]
while in 1737
Kızlar A?ası
Hacı Be?ir A?a erected in the yard a column-shaped fountain.
[10]
The earthquake of 1766 destroyed the dome of the building: it was rebuilt in 1768.
[12]
During the 19th century,
Mahmud II
(r. 1808-1839) rebuilt the porch. In 1847?1848, Sultan
Abdulmecid I
(r. 1839?1861) let the wall which encircles the complex be rebuilt. Some years later two fountains were erected in the yard of the mosque.
[13]
Finally, in 1953, the building was restored again.
[13]
The tradition of lighting up the
minaret
of the mosques on the eve of the anniversary of the birth of
Muhammad
(
Mawlid al-Nabi
) was born in the Koca Mustafa Mosque.
[14]
Architecture
[
edit
]
The building was originally of the ambulatory type, and is oriented in east-northeast - west-southwest direction. It has a central dome and a three apses, placed of the east side. An
esonarthex
and
exonarthex
are placed in the west side. On the other three sides the dome was originally surrounded by arcades surmounted by
barrel vaults
. During the Ottoman period the building underwent important alterations. The entrance is on the north side, where the Ottomans built an arcade covered by five domes. After the earthquake of 1766, the central dome was rebuilt. It is circular inside, octagonal outside, and rests on a high drum pierced by eight windows.
[15]
On the north and south sides of the main dome, two half domes were added during the Ottoman period. They are also both pierced by three large windows, which outside look like dormers.
[15]
All the domes rest on arches. The eastern arch sustaining the main dome is prolonged into a barrel vault
bema
, flanked by niches which originally led to the
Prothesis
and
Diaconicon
.
[16]
Only the
diaconicon
, covered with a cross-groined vault, survives.
[16]
The west arch sustaining the dome is filled in with a triple arcade resting on two marble columns topped by cubic
capitals
.
The inner narthex is divided into three bays. The north one is covered with an Ottoman dome. The central one is surmounted by a barrel vault, while the south one is surmounted by a cross groined vault. The last two are Byzantine.
[17]
The outer narthex is divided into five bays, the three central corresponding with those of the inner narthex. The central bay is covered by a central saucer dome resting on
pendentives
. It is separated by the two intermediate bays by columns set against pilasters. These two bays are covered with groined vaults put on
ionic
capitals
, which resemble those used in the
Church of Saints Sergius and Baccus
. The two external bays are surmounted by central saucer domes and are separated from the others by projecting pilasters.
[15]
The exterior is clearly Ottoman. It is made with finely dressed and polished stone, with no tiles, and has a stone moulded cornice.
[15]
Above the drum of the halfdomes there is a stone molded cornice. The square base of the drum and the dome itself are faced with polished stone alternating with courses of three bricks set in a thick bed of
mortar
.
[15]
Also the dome is crowned with a stone molded cornice. The roof is covered with lead.
The Byzantine monastery has disappeared completely, except for an underground
cistern
which lies southeast of the mosque.
[5]
A beautiful Byzantine carved door frame, possibly of the sixth century, belonging to the Medrese, has been brought to the
Istanbul Archaeology Museum
.
Despite its architectural significance, the building has never undergone a systematic study.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Janin (1953), 34. "A gate of the now vanished
Constantinian wall
of the city."
- ^
Muller-Wiener (1977), p. 172.
- ^
The denomination derives from a burial place of criminals which lied nearby. Janin (1953), p. 35.
- ^
It should be noticed that according to modern sources, the figure of Andrew of Crete, like those of many iconophile Saints lived during the iconoclastic period, is legendary. Brubaker (2011)
- ^
a
b
c
d
Muller-Wiener (1977), p. 173.
- ^
The
Kapiciba?i
("chief doorkeeper") was also master of ceremonies at receptions for foreign ambassadors.
- ^
Eyice (1955), p. 92.
- ^
In the same period he converted also another byzantine church, this one placed in the
Blachernae
neighborhood, into a mosque, named after him
Atik Mustafa Pasha Mosque
.
- ^
Van Millingen (1912), p. 107.
- ^
a
b
Gulersoy (1976), p. 262.
- ^
A zaviye was a building designed specifically for gatherings of a
Sufi
or
dervish
brotherhood
- ^
a
b
c
Muller-Wiener (1977), p. 174
- ^
a
b
Muller-Wiener (1977), p. 175.
- ^
Mamboury, p. 258.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Van Millingen (1912), p. 115.
- ^
a
b
Van Millingen (1912), p. 114.
- ^
Van Millingen (1912), p. 113.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Van Millingen, Alexander
(1912).
Byzantine Churches of Constantinople
. London: MacMillan & Co.
- Janin, Raymond
(1953).
La Geographie Ecclesiastique de l'Empire Byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siege de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecumenique. 3rd Vol. : Les Eglises et les Monasteres
(in French). Paris: Institut Francais d'Etudes Byzantines.
- Mamboury, Ernest
(1953).
The Tourists' Istanbul
. Istanbul: Cituri Biraderler Basımevi.
- Eyice, Semavi
(1955).
Istanbul. Petite Guide a travers les Monuments Byzantins et Turcs
(in French). Istanbul: Istanbul Matbaası.
- Gulersoy, Celik
(1976).
A Guide to Istanbul
. Istanbul: Istanbul Kitaplı?ı.
OCLC
3849706
.
- Muller-Wiener, Wolfgang
(1977).
Bildlexikon Zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul Bis Zum Beginn D. 17 Jh
(in German). Tubingen: Wasmuth.
ISBN
978-3-8030-1022-3
.
- Brubaker, Leslie; Haldon, John (2011).
Byzantium in the Iconoclast era (ca 680-850)
. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-05-21-43093-7
.
External links
[
edit
]
Church-Mosques
(Kilise-Camiler)
in
Istanbul
|
---|
|
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Geographic
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|