Laleli mosque
The Laleli Mosque , also known as the Tulip Mosque ( Turkish Laleli Camii ; lâle = tulip), is one of the most interesting Ottoman Baroque mosques in Istanbul . It is located in the center of the historic old town, west of the Grand Bazaar in the Laleli district between Beyazıt and Aksaray . The mosque and district may have been named after the local saint Laleli Baba , whose tomb was near the mosque.
The Laleli Mosque was built between 1759/60 and 1763 by order of Sultan Mustafa III. probably built by Mehmed Tahir Ağa in the Ottoman Baroque style. It was damaged in an earthquake just three years after its completion , the restoration was completed after a fire in 1783 - as the door inscription shows.
Architecture and equipment
The mosque is built on underground substructures and rests on eight mighty pillars that surround a well courtyard. The eight baroque pillars inside the mosque rest on these pillars. Today there is a bazaar in the cool underground galleries. Monumental stairs lead from the wide terrace to the raised entrances. The terrace is connected to the Divan Yolu by a ramp so that the Sultan could reach his mosque on horseback. On the outside, in the lower half, brick bands structure the stone building, which is flanked by two minarets . The narrow inner courtyard is rectangular and has an attractive fountain.
The dome of the Laleli Mosque has a diameter of 12.50 m and a clear height of 24.50 m. The interior is a variation of the eight-pillar mosque type of the Selimiye in Edirne . A more direct model can be seen in the Nişancı Mehmet Pasha Mosque from 1584. The corners of the octagon supporting the dome are underpinned by semi-domes , and an apse-like space protrudes from the kibla wall , likewise crowned by a semi-dome. In the interior, more than 100 elongated ornamental glass windows , some of which are decorated with precious stones, cast a colored light on the multicolored porphyry walls . This gives the marble walls, in yellow, red, blue-gray and other colors, a cheerfulness that has captured the spirit of architecture since the tulip era . The panels and medallions on the western wall also add to the color, where not only rare types of marble were used in the Pietra dura and Opus sectile techniques, but also gemstones such as lapis lazuli , onyx and jasper . There are also fine marbles to match in the precious mihrab (prayer niche) and mimbar (Friday pulpit).
Part of a Külliye
This sultan's mosque was the center of a Külliye (building complex), to which, in addition to the mosque, a medrese (destroyed), a poor kitchen ( İmaret ), a drinking fountain ( Çeşme ), a well house ( Sebil ), an astronomical observatory ( Muvakkithane ), a public bath ( Hamam ; destroyed) and a caravanserai ( Han ) as well as several tombs (including the common Türbe of the founder Mustafa III. And his son Selim III. ) Belong.
gallery
historical panorama, in the middle the Laleli mosque; from the Abdullah Frères
Kibla side with apse-like mihrab compartment
Inner courtyard with purification fountain
Web links
Coordinates: 41 ° 0 ′ 36 ″ N , 28 ° 57 ′ 24 ″ E