The Blue Mosque, officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed between 1609 and 1617 during the rule of Ahmed I and remains a functioning mosque today. It also attracts a large number of tourists and is one of the most iconic and popular monuments of Ottoman architecture.
The Süleymaniye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An inscription specifies the foundation date as 1550 and the inauguration date as 1557, although work on the complex probably continued for a few years after this.
Mimar Sinan also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, was the chief Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II and Murad III. He was responsible for the construction of more than 300 major structures, including the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, the Kanuni Sultan Suleiman Bridge in Büyükçekmece, and the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad, as well as other more modest projects such as madrasa's, külliyes, and bridges. His apprentices would later design the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul and the Stari Most bridge in Mostar.
The Selimiye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque, located in the city of Edirne, Turkey. It was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1575. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture as a whole and Ottoman architecture in particular.
Ottoman architecture is an architectural style or tradition that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine and Iranian architecture along with other architectural traditions in the Middle East. Early Ottoman architecture experimented with multiple building types over the course of the 13th to 15th centuries, progressively evolving into the classical Ottoman style of the 16th and 17th centuries. This style was a mixture of native Turkish tradition and influences from the Hagia Sophia, resulting in monumental mosque buildings focused around a high central dome with a varying number of semi-domes. The most important architect of the classical period is Mimar Sinan, whose major works include the Şehzade Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque, and Selimiye Mosque. The second half of the 16th century also saw the apogee of certain Ottoman decorative arts, most notably in the use of Iznik tiles.
The New Mosque and later New Valide Sultan Mosque after its partial reconstruction and completion between 1660 and 1665, is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, Turkey. It is situated on the Golden Horn, at the southern end of the Galata Bridge, and is a notable Istanbul landmark marking the crossing from the old historic core of the city to the Beyoğlu (Pera) district. The mosque is a notable example of the Sultanate of Women period in Ottoman Empire.
The Yeni Valide Mosque is an 18th-century Ottoman mosque in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Turkey.
The Şehzade Mosque is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent as a memorial to his son Şehzade Mehmed who died in 1543. It is sometimes referred to as the "Prince's Mosque" in English. The mosque was one of the earliest and most important works of architect Mimar Sinan and is one of the signature works of Classical Ottoman architecture.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque in the Kadırga neighborhood in Fatih district, Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned jointly by the grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and his wife İsmihan Sultan. It was designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan and completed in 1571/2. The mosque is noted for the fine quality of the Iznik tiles that decorate the interior walls.
Sultanzade Şemsi Ahmed Pasha, known simply as Şemsi Pasha, was a distinguished Ottoman nobleman and beylerbey who occupied several high-ranking posts, serving at various stages as the Ottoman governor-general of the beylerbeyliks of Damascus, Anatolia and Rumeli.
Behram Pasha Mosque is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque located in the town of Diyarbakır in southeast Turkey. It was commissioned by the Ottoman governor-general Behram Pasha.
The Haseki Sultan Complex is a 16th-century Ottoman imperial mosque complex in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first royal project designed by the chief imperial architect Mimar Sinan.
The Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha Mosque is a mosque in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned by Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha, who served as grand vizier multiple times from the 1730s to 1750s. The mosque was completed in 1734–1735. It is part of a larger külliye with multiple components, including the founder's tomb. The architects of mosque are Çuhadar Ömer Ağa and Hacı Mustafa Ağa.
Classical Ottoman architecture is a period in Ottoman architecture generally including the 16th and 17th centuries. The period is most strongly associated with the works of Mimar Sinan, who was Chief Court Architect under three sultans between 1538 and 1588. The start of the period also coincided with the long reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, which is recognized as the apogee of Ottoman political and cultural development, with extensive patronage in art and architecture by the sultan, his family, and his high-ranking officials.
Tulip Period architecture was a stage in Ottoman architecture in the early 18th century. New types of decoration were introduced into the existing classical style of Ottoman architecture and new types of buildings, such as stand-alone fountains and libraries, became important landmarks. The style is most closely associated with the Tulip Period (1718-1730), a period of peace during the reign of Ahmed III when architectural patronage increased in Istanbul after a relative lull in the late 17th century. However, the new style was also present at the beginning of Ahmed III's reign and continued to be evident after him in the 1730s. The introduction of European influences in Ottoman culture and architecture eventually led to the creation of the Ottoman Baroque style in the 1740s.
Ottoman Baroque architecture, also known as Turkish Baroque, was a period in Ottoman architecture in the 18th century and early 19th century which was influenced by European Baroque architecture. Preceded by the changes of the Tulip Period and Tulip Period architecture, the style marked a significant departure from the classical style of Ottoman architecture and introduced new decorative forms to mostly traditional Ottoman building types. It emerged in the 1740s during the reign of Mahmud I (1730–1754) and its most important early monument was the Nuruosmaniye Mosque, completed in 1755. Later in the 18th century, new building types were also introduced based on European influences. The last fully Baroque monuments, such as the Nusretiye Mosque, were built by Mahmud II in the early 19th century, but during this period new European-influenced styles were introduced and supplanted the Baroque.
Early Ottoman architecture corresponds to the period of Ottoman architecture roughly up to the 15th century. This article covers the history of Ottoman architecture up to the end of Bayezid II's reign, prior to the advent of what is generally considered "classical" Ottoman architecture in the 16th century. Early Ottoman architecture was a continuation of earlier Seljuk and Beylik architecture while also incorporating local Byzantine influences. The new styles took shape in the capital cities of Bursa and Edirne as well as in other important early Ottoman cities such as Iznik. Three main types of structures predominated in this early period: single-domed mosques, "T-plan" buildings, and multi-domed buildings. Religious buildings were often part of larger charitable complexes (külliyes) that included other structures such as madrasas, hammams, tombs, and commercial establishments.
Decoration in Ottoman architecture takes on several forms, the most prominent of which include tile decoration, painted decoration, and stone carving. Beginning in the 14th century, early Ottoman decoration was largely a continuation of earlier Seljuk styles in Anatolia as well as other predominant styles of decoration found in Islamic art and architecture at the time. Over the course of the next few centuries, a distinctive Ottoman repertoire of motifs evolved, mostly floral motifs, such as rumî, hatayî, and saz styles. Calligraphic inscriptions, most characteristically in a thuluth script, were also a mainstay. From the 18th century onward, this repertoire became increasingly influenced by Western European art and architecture and went as far as directly borrowing techniques and styles from the latter.
The Nışançı Mehmed Pasha Mosque is a late 16th-century Ottoman mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque is part of an architectural complex (külliye) that also includes the tomb of its founder, Nışançı Mehmed Pasha, and formerly included two madrasas and a Sufi lodge (tekke).
