ARCHITECTS ARCHITECT ARCHITECT SINAN

Sinan, also known as Mimar Sinân Âğâ or Koca Architect, is one of the world's greatest architects and building artists, who lived during the reign of three great Ottoman sultans, including Suleiman the Magnificent. It is rumored that Mimar Sinan was born in 1490 in Ağırnas village of Kayseri. 

    He was recruited at the age of twenty-two and brought to Istanbul, following the practice of recruiting recruits from Anatolia, which was initiated during the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim. Sinan, who was chosen because he was smart, young and dynamic, was later placed in the Recruit Boys' Corps, which trained soldiers for the army at that time. While he was studying here, he admired architecture and wanted to build waterways and create arches in the vineyards and gardens of his homeland. Sinan, who learned carpentry at the Acemi Oğlanlar Ocakları, worked in construction works; During these studies, he also had the opportunity to work alongside the leading architects of the period. 

    After the Battle of Çaldıran in 1514 and the Egyptian campaigns between 1516 and 1520, Sinan was recruited to the Janissary Corps after returning to Istanbul. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, he participated in the Belgrade campaigns in 1521 and the Rhodes campaigns in 1522. At the end of these campaigns, he was promoted to officer. 

    Sinan, who later participated in many expeditions, especially the Mohaç Expedition, received the title of haseki as a result of successfully completing the construction of three ships that would pass over Lake Van in the last Baghdad expedition. 

   Sinan, who attracted attention with a bridge he built over the Prut River in 1536, became the President of the Supreme Lodge of Architects, and in 1539, upon the death of Architect Acem Ali, he became the Chief Architect of the Palace, a position he held until his death. 

    Living in the most powerful age of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent, II. Selim and III. Mimar Sinan, who was the chief architect during the reign of three sultans, including Murat, had the greatest role in the design and implementation of architectural masterpieces symbolizing the power of the empire.

WORKS OF ARCHITECT SINAN

    Mimar Sinan examined all the works he saw with great care, but did not imitate any of them exactly and constantly improved and renewed his art. 

Three works that Mimar Sinan made before he was appointed as the Chief Architect are remarkable. These;

Hüsreviye Complex in Aleppo, 

Çoban Mustafa Complex in Gebze; 

It is the Haseki Complex built for Hürrem Sultan in Istanbul. 

The three great works that Mimar Sinan created after he became the Chief Architect are indicators of the development of his art. The first of these is the Şehzade Mosque and social complex in Istanbul. This work of Mimar Sinan is called a work of his apprenticeship period. 

Süleymaniye Mosque is the most magnificent work of Mimar Sinan in Istanbul. According to his own words, this work was made during his journeyman period, between 1550 and 1557.

    Mimar Sinan's greatest work is It is the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne (1575), which he built at the age of 86 and described as "my masterwork".

    Mimar Sinan dealt with many different issues as long as he was the Chief Architect. He restored old ones from time to time. He spent his greatest efforts in this regard on Hagia Sophia. In 1573, he repaired the dome of Hagia Sophia and built reinforced walls around it, ensuring that the work remained intact to this day. 

    He also had environmental regulations made in some places and emphasized that the danger posed by the narrow streets of Istanbul should be emphasized in those years. During his career as an architect in the Ottoman Empire, which lasted nearly fifty years, he built waterways, fountains, mosques, social complexes and madrassas throughout the empire, especially in Istanbul. Although he was not personally involved in the construction of some of these structures, he commissioned his students or a group of architects affiliated with him. 

    Mimar Sinan is also an urban planning expert. He would first arrange the surroundings of his work. He showed great success in choosing his works and placed them in the most appropriate way in his environment. 

    Mimar Sinan, most of whose works are in Istanbul, built 
84 mosques, 
52 masjids, 
22 tombs, 
57 madrasahs, 
7 schools and darülkurras, 
17 soup kitchens 
, 3 hospitals, 
7 waterway arches, 
8 bridges, 
20 caravanserais, 
35 mansions and palaces, 
6 warehouses and cellars. He was the chief architect of more than three hundred and fifty buildings , 
including 48 baths and unregistered ones.

    Sinan, who served many sultans throughout his life, made significant contributions to the architectural heritage of the Ottoman Empire and brought Turkish architecture to its peak.