A peace-instilling Ottoman yard returns: the Valide-i Atik Complex
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Gül Demir - Niki Gamm
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 16, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The Valide-i Atik Complex is one of the last works of Mimar Sinan, the renowned chief architect of the Ottoman Empire during the period when it was at its height. Valide-i Atik means ’the old mother of a sultan’ and refers to one of the more famous - or, perhaps, infamous - mothers to ever inhabit the imperial harem, Nurbanu Sultan
The inner courtyards of Ottoman buildings are among the most restful places in the world, peaceful gardens ringed by porticos where people can sit and talk or stroll, protected from the rain or sun, depending on the season.
Istanbul has just gained one of these lovely courtyards with the restoration of the Valide-i Atik Complex at Toptaşkı in Üsküdar, on the city’s Asian side. Valide-i Atik means "the old mother of a sultan," and refers to one of the more famous Ğ or, perhaps, infamous Ğ mothers who ever inhabited the imperial harem, Nurbanu Sultan. (The complex is not to be confused with another one in Üsküdar, dating from the 18th century and called "the new mother of a sultan.")
According to some sources, Nurbanu was the niece of the Doge of Venice, born Cecilia Venier-Baffo, an illegitimate child of the lord of Paros, on an island off of Italy, while other sources suggest she might have been Jewish instead. When she was 10, Nurbanu was abducted by corsairs and eventually ended up in the Ottoman imperial harem, where Kanuni Sultan Süleyman’s wife, Hürrem Sultan, chose her to marry her son Selim II.
Selim is said to have fallen in love with Nurbanu as soon as he saw her, even writing poetry to her. But in spite of that, it seems he couldn’t resist other women, fathering some 130 sons and an unknown number of daughters. Nurbanu too bore him a son, Murat, and when Selim died, she had his body kept secretly in an ice-filled box until Murat could arrive to claim the throne.
As the mother of the reigning sultan, Nurbanu was effectively able to rule the empire from behind the harem doors. She was close to the grand vizier of the time, a relationship that allowed him to carry out his policies without much interference from the sultan. But as she grew older, Murat’s wife, Safiye Sultan, proved a rival to Nurbanu’s power. When the two women first met, Safiye was said to have been struck by Nurbanu’s beauty, even though the sultan’s mother had already grown old. Safiye was from Venice and devoted her efforts to prevent war from breaking out between the small city-state and the Ottoman Empire, while Nurbanu supported the so-called "war party" through the grand vizier.
Nurbanu died in 1586, seven years after the Valide-i Atik Complex was completed, and was buried in the mausoleum of Selim II. The building’s architect, Mimar Sinan, died approximately one year later after reportedly living to be more than 90 years old.
The Valide-i Atik Complex is one of the last works of Sinan, who was the chief architect of the Ottoman Empire during the height of its power. He is best known for his Sehzade, Süleymaniye and Selimiye mosques, but during his long life, he put his signature on many architectural works Ğ despite having no training as an architect.
The Valide-i Atik Complex was commissioned by Selim II (1524-1574) in 1570 for his wife Nurbanu Sultan and was completed by his son Murad III (1546-1595) nine years later, in 1579. The complex was expanded in 1583 and consists of three building groups separated by streets and two small, freestanding structures.
The smallest of the three building groups contained a dervish lodge, while the largest included a house for readers of the Koran, a school for teaching the traditions of Islamic law, a hospital with an insane asylum and a soup kitchen for students. The soup kitchen was subdivided into a kitchen, a hospice and a caravansary, a place where camel caravans would stop on long journeys.
The dervish lodge belonged to the Halvetiye Sufi sect and continued to be active until 1925, when the sects were outlawed. It remained unused until the 1970s, when it was repaired and turned into a student dormitory.
Standing between the dervish lodge and the group containing the soup kitchen is the mosque, surrounded on three sides by a courtyard. The dome of the mosque rests on six pointed arches and has been framed on two sides by half domes. A fifth half dome by the mihrab, the niche that points toward Mecca, projects to the outside. Though the mosque has no decoration on the outside, its interior is highly ornamented, with some of the best İznik tiles from the classic period, bearing floral motifs and Koranic inscriptions, located around the mihrab. Geometrical inlay work, pencil-work, and carved woodwork are also found in the interior.
In the courtyard, there is a large fountain used to perform ablutions, as well as a school. There are also two freestanding structures, the larger of which was the hamam, or Turkish bath, and the smaller of which was the Koran school.
The mosque had some additional work done in 1835, but then was left alone for many years until the mosque was restored between 1956 and 1972 by the General Directorate of Religious Foundations.
Passing on intricacIes of restoration
The new restoration began through the work of the Irtes family, particularly the father, Sabri Irtes, who worked at Topkapı Palace. Until 1995, he engaged in restoration work in Turkey and also abroad, applying many new techniques. His profession of painting or engraving designs is called kalemkarlık.
Sabri Irtes’ three sons, M. Semih, Hayrettin and Adnan, completed their apprenticeship period under their father’s supervision, mostly working in Topkapı Palace, and then organized themselves in 1979 under the name Nakkas. Over the ensuing years, Nakkas carried out many artistic works in the fields of restoration and mosque decoration and ornamentation in Istanbul, Anatolia and the world.
In 1991, Semih Irtes and Mamure Oz founded Sema Nakışhanesi to contribute to the preservation of book arts, mainly the illumination style. Sema Nakışshanesi trained numerous students and played an important role in promoting these arts by holding exhibitions all around Turkey and abroad. Nakkas and Sema Nakışhanesi eventually merged under the name of Nakkas Tezyini Sanatlar Merkezi (Nakkas Ornamental Arts Center) in the dervish lodge of the Valide-i Atik Complex. Today, it functions as a smaller version of a traditional Ottoman nakkaşhane, or palace studio, carrying out various projects and designs of architectural ornamentation with a professional approach.
While the center and its instructors continue providing education in artistic fields, the Nakkas Tezyini Sanatlar Merkezi is working to further improve its archives with the help of an expert team and students and create future publications based on those documents. Through periodic exhibitions, seminars, workshops and other offerings, this unique center aims to introduce the traditional arts to larger audiences.
Istanbul has just gained one of these lovely courtyards with the restoration of the Valide-i Atik Complex at Toptaşkı in Üsküdar, on the city’s Asian side. Valide-i Atik means "the old mother of a sultan," and refers to one of the more famous Ğ or, perhaps, infamous Ğ mothers who ever inhabited the imperial harem, Nurbanu Sultan. (The complex is not to be confused with another one in Üsküdar, dating from the 18th century and called "the new mother of a sultan.")
According to some sources, Nurbanu was the niece of the Doge of Venice, born Cecilia Venier-Baffo, an illegitimate child of the lord of Paros, on an island off of Italy, while other sources suggest she might have been Jewish instead. When she was 10, Nurbanu was abducted by corsairs and eventually ended up in the Ottoman imperial harem, where Kanuni Sultan Süleyman’s wife, Hürrem Sultan, chose her to marry her son Selim II.
Selim is said to have fallen in love with Nurbanu as soon as he saw her, even writing poetry to her. But in spite of that, it seems he couldn’t resist other women, fathering some 130 sons and an unknown number of daughters. Nurbanu too bore him a son, Murat, and when Selim died, she had his body kept secretly in an ice-filled box until Murat could arrive to claim the throne.
As the mother of the reigning sultan, Nurbanu was effectively able to rule the empire from behind the harem doors. She was close to the grand vizier of the time, a relationship that allowed him to carry out his policies without much interference from the sultan. But as she grew older, Murat’s wife, Safiye Sultan, proved a rival to Nurbanu’s power. When the two women first met, Safiye was said to have been struck by Nurbanu’s beauty, even though the sultan’s mother had already grown old. Safiye was from Venice and devoted her efforts to prevent war from breaking out between the small city-state and the Ottoman Empire, while Nurbanu supported the so-called "war party" through the grand vizier.
Nurbanu died in 1586, seven years after the Valide-i Atik Complex was completed, and was buried in the mausoleum of Selim II. The building’s architect, Mimar Sinan, died approximately one year later after reportedly living to be more than 90 years old.
The Valide-i Atik Complex is one of the last works of Sinan, who was the chief architect of the Ottoman Empire during the height of its power. He is best known for his Sehzade, Süleymaniye and Selimiye mosques, but during his long life, he put his signature on many architectural works Ğ despite having no training as an architect.
The Valide-i Atik Complex was commissioned by Selim II (1524-1574) in 1570 for his wife Nurbanu Sultan and was completed by his son Murad III (1546-1595) nine years later, in 1579. The complex was expanded in 1583 and consists of three building groups separated by streets and two small, freestanding structures.
The smallest of the three building groups contained a dervish lodge, while the largest included a house for readers of the Koran, a school for teaching the traditions of Islamic law, a hospital with an insane asylum and a soup kitchen for students. The soup kitchen was subdivided into a kitchen, a hospice and a caravansary, a place where camel caravans would stop on long journeys.
The dervish lodge belonged to the Halvetiye Sufi sect and continued to be active until 1925, when the sects were outlawed. It remained unused until the 1970s, when it was repaired and turned into a student dormitory.
Standing between the dervish lodge and the group containing the soup kitchen is the mosque, surrounded on three sides by a courtyard. The dome of the mosque rests on six pointed arches and has been framed on two sides by half domes. A fifth half dome by the mihrab, the niche that points toward Mecca, projects to the outside. Though the mosque has no decoration on the outside, its interior is highly ornamented, with some of the best İznik tiles from the classic period, bearing floral motifs and Koranic inscriptions, located around the mihrab. Geometrical inlay work, pencil-work, and carved woodwork are also found in the interior.
In the courtyard, there is a large fountain used to perform ablutions, as well as a school. There are also two freestanding structures, the larger of which was the hamam, or Turkish bath, and the smaller of which was the Koran school.
The mosque had some additional work done in 1835, but then was left alone for many years until the mosque was restored between 1956 and 1972 by the General Directorate of Religious Foundations.
Passing on intricacIes of restoration
The new restoration began through the work of the Irtes family, particularly the father, Sabri Irtes, who worked at Topkapı Palace. Until 1995, he engaged in restoration work in Turkey and also abroad, applying many new techniques. His profession of painting or engraving designs is called kalemkarlık.
Sabri Irtes’ three sons, M. Semih, Hayrettin and Adnan, completed their apprenticeship period under their father’s supervision, mostly working in Topkapı Palace, and then organized themselves in 1979 under the name Nakkas. Over the ensuing years, Nakkas carried out many artistic works in the fields of restoration and mosque decoration and ornamentation in Istanbul, Anatolia and the world.
In 1991, Semih Irtes and Mamure Oz founded Sema Nakışhanesi to contribute to the preservation of book arts, mainly the illumination style. Sema Nakışshanesi trained numerous students and played an important role in promoting these arts by holding exhibitions all around Turkey and abroad. Nakkas and Sema Nakışhanesi eventually merged under the name of Nakkas Tezyini Sanatlar Merkezi (Nakkas Ornamental Arts Center) in the dervish lodge of the Valide-i Atik Complex. Today, it functions as a smaller version of a traditional Ottoman nakkaşhane, or palace studio, carrying out various projects and designs of architectural ornamentation with a professional approach.
While the center and its instructors continue providing education in artistic fields, the Nakkas Tezyini Sanatlar Merkezi is working to further improve its archives with the help of an expert team and students and create future publications based on those documents. Through periodic exhibitions, seminars, workshops and other offerings, this unique center aims to introduce the traditional arts to larger audiences.