Gallery
Description
Property Name : Suleymaniye Evvel Madrasa
Inventory No: 90-212-62
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2009-11-10
Country (State party): Turkey
Province: İstanbul
Town: Fatih
Geographic coordinates: 41° 0′ 55.36″ N
28° 57′ 46.39″ E
Historic Period: 16th century, 2nd half
Year of Construction: 1550-7
Style: Classical Ottoman
Original Use: Madrasa
Current Use: Commercial
Architect: Architect Sinan
Significance
The Evvel Madrasa of Süleymaniye is an important education fragment of this masterpiece complex of Architect Sinan. Süleymaniye Complex is presently within UNESCO’S World Heritage List and is the largest establishment designed by Sinan, located on the 3rd hill of the Historical Peninsula. Evvel Madrasa is one of the four education buildings within the complex. These madrasas had great role as being the top educative buildings within the academic hierarchy of Ottopman period. Evvel Madrasa is the mirror of Sani Madrasa. Ayşe Kadın Hamamı Street seperates and becomes the symmetry axis of these two madrasas. Today, both madrasas function as the library of Süleymaniye. These two madrasas are also known as the madrasas on the Marmara side of the complex. Evvel and Sani Madrasas means ‘first’ and ‘second’; so these madrasas, on the western side of the complex are also known as the First and the Second Madrasas. These buildings are two storeyed on the street facade, inside it is a storey of 23 cell in each madrasa. These madrasas represents a great usage of typology by Sinan.
Selection Criteria
i. to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius
ii. to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design
iii. to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared
iv. to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history
State of Preservation
The Evvel Madrasa of Sinan, keeps its authentic appearance. The ground level spaces are today used as shopping places. Upper levels, that had been used as the cells of students are today functioning as the parts of Süleymaniye Library.
During the time, some details are observed to have changed, such as the exchange of lead over th roofs, stone on the minarets. A large restoration projected has been started by 2008 and today the complex is still being restored.
References
Kuran, Aptullah. Sinan: The Grand Old Master Of Ottoman Architecture, Institute of Turkish Studies, Inc., Washington D.C. ; Ada Press Publishers, Istanbul, 1987,
Günay, Reha. SINAN The Architect and His Works. YEM Yayınları, Istanbul, 1998 ,
Necipoğlu, Gülru. The Age of Sinan, Reaktion Books Ltd, London, 2005,
Kuban, Doğan. Sinan’s Art and Selimiye, The Economic and Social History Foundation, İstanbul, 1997,
Vogt-Göknil, Ulya. Mimar Sinan, Sandoz Kültür Yayınları, Istanbul, 1987,
Stierlin, Henri. Soliman Et l’Architecture Ottomane, Office du Livre, Fribourg, 1985,
Webpage of Archnet; http://www.archnet.org ,