Tombul mosque
The Tombul Mosque ( Bulgarian Томбул джамия / Tombul dschamija, Turkish Tombul Camii ) is the largest mosque in Bulgaria and allegedly also the second largest mosque in the Balkan Peninsula . It is located in Shumen in the north-east of the country and is not only one of the most important buildings of Islamic art in Bulgaria from the time of Ottoman rule , but also probably the most important Ottoman building of the 18th century in the European half of the empire. Construction began in 1740 and, according to the building inscription, was completed in 1744/1745.
During the communist rule in Bulgaria (1944–1989) the mosque served as a museum. Today the Tombul Mosque is back in operation and is one of the 100 national tourist objects in the country (number 95) listed by the Bulgarian Tourism Association .
Surname
The popular popular name for the mosque is derived from the Turkish word tombul (meaning chubby, spherical, plump), which describes the bulbous shape of the dome. The "official" name of the building is Serif Halil Paşa Mosque (Bulgarian: Джамия Шериф Халил паша, Turkish: Şerif Halil Paşa Camii), its builder was an Ottoman administrator who worked in the first half of the 18th century and probably from the Shumen area was native.
architecture
The building complex consists of a Friday mosque, an inner courtyard with a garden and another building with 12 rooms, which was once used as accommodation for the students of the madrasa . The mosque is based on a square plan; the dome is supported by an octagonal drum . The top ( alem ) of the dome is 25 meters above the ground. The interior of the prayer house is decorated with plant and geometric shapes ( arabesque ) and suras in Arabic script . A portico opens onto the inner courtyard. The minaret of the Tombul Mosque is about 40 meters high. Although the mosque is often cited as an example of the “ Ottoman Baroque ” in the Balkans, “Baroque” elements can only be found in the interior wall paintings, which probably date to the middle of the 19th century, but not in the architecture and architectural sculptures.
According to tradition, columns from the palaces of the nearby medieval Bulgarian capitals Pliska and Preslaw , which were still preserved at the time the mosque was built, were supposedly used as load-bearing elements when the Tombul Mosque was built .
In addition to the Friday mosque and the madrasah, the Şerif Halil Paşa building complex also houses a primary school ( mektep ) and a library, which once also taught Islamic calligraphy. In the middle of the courtyard adjoining the mosque, around which the rooms of the medrese and the library are located, there is a fountain called şadırvan .
Building inscription
The text of the building inscription (Turkish: kitabe ) on a marble plaque above the entrance comes from the famous Istanbul poet Nimet. The eight double verses, divided into 16 framed writing fields, were designed by the well-known calligrapher İbrahim Namık, as the inscription reveals. In a translation, this reads as follows:
“The administrator [ kethüda ] of the great vizier , the refuge of high and low, that namesake of the builder of the Holy House, that illustrious personality, that incorruptible person has twice honored the high position of the administrator [ kethüdalık ] with luck and power. The one who deals with the important affairs of religion and the state is the one who practices the sunnah , who is the helper of the servant of the exalted religious right. Because he has a pure place of origin and generosity, that generous man has made this city pure and clean with commendable works, has, among other things, filled this neat sanctuary with light, whose floor plan is beautiful, whose outline is lovely and whose construction is solid. How beautiful is the new structure, the sanctuary of the heart-enchanting building! If it is equivalent to the Kaaba and follows it, it is only right and proper. The truth is that he has proven the truth for the saying “love for home”. May the gracious master give him ample reward! Nimet also has a beautiful chronogram for her [d. H. of the mosque] Description compiled: “The pure mosque of Serif has been animated like a light.” Written by İbrahim Namık, in the year 1157 of the Hijra [d. H. 1744/5 AD]. "
literature
- Dimana Trankova, Anthony Georgieff, Hristo Matanov: A guide to Ottoman Bulgaria. Vagabond Media, Sofia 2011, ISBN 978-954-92306-5-9 , pp. 100-106.
proof
- ↑ The Bulgarian word for mosque Dschamija (bulg. Джамия) is from the Turkish word cami derived that the Friday Mosque opposite the house of prayer ( mescit ) delimits.
- ↑ An allusion to Abraham , to whom the Kaaba is ascribed according to Islamic tradition and who is nicknamed Halil.
- ^ After Herbert Duda: Balkan Turkish Studies. Vienna, 1949, pp. 72-73. 113-114 (facsimile), as well as suggestions in Robert Anhegger : News on Balkan Turkish research. In: Journal of the German Oriental Society , Vol. 103 (1953), pp. 85-86.
Web links
Coordinates: 43 ° 16 ′ 10 ″ N , 26 ° 54 ′ 36 ″ E