Beyazit Complex

The complex, which is
scattered throughout Beyazit
Square, was built by
Sultan Bayezid II and
completed in the years
1500-1505. It was originally
thought to have been
designed by
Mimar Sinan Hayreddin or
Mimar Kemaleddin but later
research suggests the
architect may been Yakubsah
Bin Sultan.
The complex is composed of a mosque, a kitchen, a primary school, a hospital, a medrese, a hamam, a soup kitchen for the poor and a caravanserai. It differs from the fatih complex before it in that it was not built symmetrically but in a seemingly random style. Beyazit Mosque is at the center of the complex. Its main dome is 16.78 meters in diameter and is supported by four pillars. An oddity is that one of the minarets is 79 meters from the other and is contiguous with the hospital. The stone and wood craftsmanship and stained glass are artistic masterpieces. The courtyard paving materials and pillars used for the reservoir for ablutions were reclaimed from Byzantine ruins and re-used. These pillars in particular demonstrate the quality of Byzantine workmanship. The soup kitchen and Caravanserai are to the left of the mosque and are used today by the Beyazit State Library. The medresse far to the right of the mosque is used as a museum by the Turkish Foundation of Calligraphy. The hamam is some distance from the medresse on Ordu Street next to the Department of Literature. Tombs are found on the Kiblah [Mecca] side of the mosque. Sultan Bayezid II, his daughter Selcuk Hatun and the architect of Tanzimat Fermani, Mustafa Resit Pasa, are buried here. |
