The mosques of Istanbul represent the splendour of Islamic architecture. Their central domes, rising above the skyline of the city, convey both the ideals and ambitions of powerful Ottoman Sultans and the brilliance of the architects who created them. Th

A colorful, magical tale set during the height of the Ottoman Empire, from the acclaimed author of The Island of Missing Trees (a Reese's Book Club Pick) Chosen for Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall’s “Reading Room” Book Club In this novel, Turkey’s preeminent female writer spins an epic tale spanning nearly a century in the life of the Ottoman Empire. In 1540, twelve-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan’s menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan’s beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota’s help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history. Yet even as they build Sinan’s triumphant masterpieces—the incredible Suleymaniye and Selimiye mosques—dangerous undercurrents begin to emerge, with jealousy erupting among Sinan’s four apprentices. A memorable story of artistic freedom, creativity, and the clash between science and fundamentalism, Shafak’s intricate novel brims with vibrant characters, intriguing adventure, and the lavish backdrop of the Ottoman court, where love and loyalty are no match for raw power.

The sixteenth century Ottoman architect Sinan is today universally recognized as the defining figure in the development of the classical Ottoman style. In addition to his vast oeuvre, he left five remarkable autobiographical accounts, the so-called "Adsiz Risale", the "Risaletu'l-Mi'mariyye", "Tuhfetu'l-Mi'marin", "Tezkiretu'l-Mi'mariyye" and "Tezkiretu'l-Bunyan" that provide details of his life and works. Based on information dictated by Sinan to his poet friend Mustafa Sa'i Celebi shortly before his death, they exist in multiple manuscript versions in libraries in Istanbul, Ankara, and Cairo. The present volume contains critical editions of all five texts, along with transcriptions, annotated translations, facsimiles of the most important variant versions, and an introductory essay that analyzes the various surviving manuscripts, reconstructs their histories, and establishes the relationships between them.

A major assessment of the works of celebrated Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan (1489-1588). Presents a cultural and social history of Ottoman architecture in the early modern eastern Mediterranean world.

Kishwar Rizvi, drawing on the multifaceted history of the Middle East, offers a richly illustrated analysis of the role of transnational mosques in the construction of contemporary Muslim identity. As Rizvi explains, transnational mosques are structures built through the support of both government sponsorship, whether in the home country or abroad, and diverse transnational networks. By concentrating on mosques--especially those built at the turn of the twenty-first century--as the epitome of Islamic architecture, Rizvi elucidates their significance as sites for both the validation of religious praxis and the construction of national and religious ideologies. Rizvi delineates the transnational religious, political, economic, and architectural networks supporting mosques in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as in countries within their spheres of influence, such as Pakistan, Syria, and Turkmenistan. She discerns how the buildings feature architectural designs that traverse geographic and temporal distances, gesturing to far-flung places and times for inspiration. Digging deeper, however, Rizvi reveals significant diversity among the mosques--whether in a Wahabi-Sunni kingdom, a Shi&8219;i theocratic government, or a republic balancing secularism and moderate Islam--that repudiates representations of Islam as a monolith. Mosques reveal alliances and contests for influence among multinational corporations, nations, and communities of belief, Rizvi shows, and her work demonstrates how the built environment is a critical resource for understanding culture and politics in the contemporary Middle East and the Islamic world.

Architecture and urban planning have always been used by political regimes to stamp their ideologies upon cities, and this is especially the case in the modern Turkish Republic. By exploring Istanbul's modern architectural and urban history, Murat Gul highlights the dynamics of political and social change in Turkey from the late-Ottoman period until today. Looking beyond pure architectural styles or the physical manifestations of Istanbul's cultural landscape, he offers critical insight into how Turkish attempts to modernise have affected both the city and its population. Charting the diverse forces evident in Istanbul's urban fabric, the book examines late Ottoman reforms, the Turkish Republic's turn westward for inspiration, Cold War alliances and the AK Party's reaffirmation of cultural ties with the Middle East and the Balkans. Telltale signs of these moments - revivalist architecture drawing on Ottoman and Seljuk styles, 1930s Art Deco, post-war International Style buildings and the proliferation of shopping malls, luxurious gated residences and high-rise towers, for example - are analysed and illustrated in extensive detail.Connecting this rich history to present-day Istanbul, whose urban development is characterised anew by intense social stratification, the book will appeal to researchers of Turkey, its architecture and urban planning.

This text is focused on the history of the extant buildings in the Republic of Turkey. The book begins with a brief history of the Ottoman Empire and develops by outlining the mains features of Ottoman architecture and discusses the biography of the great Ottoman architect Sinan.

The complete critical edition of two important texts, Tezkiretüʼl-bünyan and Tezkiretüʼl-ebniye, based on Sinan's own accounts of his life and works. The text is accompanied by scores of full color photographs of Sinan's monuments, miniatures illustrating his works, and facsimiles of the original scripts.