Eyüp Sultan Mosque

Eyüp Sultan Mosque
Eyüp Sultan Mosque
Basic information
Location	Istanbul, Turkey
Geographic coordinates	41°02′52.61″N 28°56′01.63″E / 41.0479472°N 28.9337861°ECoordinates: 41°02′52.61″N 28°56′01.63″E / 41.0479472°N 28.9337861°E
Affiliation	Islam
Architectural description
Architectural type	Mosque
Architectural style	Ottoman architecture
Completed	1458, rebuilt 1800
Specifications
Minaret(s)	2

The Eyüp Sultan Mosque (Turkish: Eyüp Sultan Camii) is situated in the Eyüp district of Istanbul, outside the city walls near the Golden Horn. The present building dates from the beginning of the 19th century. The mosque complex includes a mausoleum marking the spot where Eyüp (Job) al-Ansari, the standard-bearer and friend of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, is said to have been buried.

History

A mosque complex (külliye) was constructed on the site in 1458 by the Ottoman Turks only five years after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453.^[1] By the end of the 18th century the mosque was in a ruinous state, perhaps as a result of earthquake damage, and in 1798 sultan Selim III ordered the whole structure other than the minarets to be pulled down and rebuilt. This work was completed in 1800. The eastern minaret was rebuilt in the original style by Mahmud II in 1822.^[2][3]

Eyüp Sultan is believed to have died during the first Arab siege of Constantinople in the 670s. His tomb is greatly venerated by Muslims and attracts many pilgrims. The mausoleum is on the north side of a courtyard opposite the main entrance to the prayer hall of the mosque.^[3]

The mosque was the traditional site for the coronation ceremony of the Ottoman Sultans, where the new sultan was girded with the sword of Osman.^[4]

Tiles

The wall of the mausoleum facing the mosque has a number of contrasting panels of Iznik tiles. They date from several different periods and were brought together during the reconstruction of mosque in 1798-1799.^[5] The walls of the vestibule to the mausoleum are also covered in Iznik tiles. They have the characteristic sealing-wax red slip and date from around 1580.^[5] Similar tiles to those in the vestibule are displayed in several museums outside Turkey; they probably once covered the walls of the now demolished entrance hall (camekân) to the baths.^{[6][7][lower-alpha 1]}

The British Museum has a panel of three blue and turquoise Iznik tiles, dating from around 1550, that are similar to some of those that now decorate the external wall of the shrine.^[14][15]

Gallery

Entrance to the complex  Prayer hall and niche (mihrab)  Ablution fountain (şadırvan)  Pulpit (minbar)  Interior of the dome  Mausoleum of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari  Tiles now in the Louvre in Paris  Tiles now in the British Museum in London

See also

• List of mosques
• Ottoman architecture

Notes

1. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a panel of 24 tiles,^[7] the Louvre in Paris has a panel of eight tiles,^[8] the David Collection in Copenhagen has a tiled panel,^[9][10] and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a single tile.^[11] The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon has a panel of 10 tiles.^[12][13]

References

1. Sumner-Boyd & Freely 2010, p. 363.
2. Goodwin 1971, pp. 411-412.
3. Sumner-Boyd & Freely 2010, p. 364.
4. Goodwin 1971, p. 412.
5. Atasoy & Raby 1989, p. 249.
6. Sumner-Boyd & Freely 2010, p. 366.
7. Victorian & Albert Museum Acc. Num. 401:1 to 24-1900.
8. Louvre Museum Acc. Num. OA 3919/2-247e
9. Atasoy & Raby 1989, p. 247 fig. 477.
10. David Collection Acc. Num. 41/1968
11. Metropolitan Museum of Art Acc. Num. 64.27.17
12. Calouste Gulbenkian Museum Acc. num. 1709
13. Queiroz Ribeiro 2009, p. 119 fig. 68.
14. Porter 1995, p. 107, fig. 96.
15. British Museum Acc. Num. 1878,1230.534

Sources

• Atasoy, Nurhan; Raby, Julian (1989). Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey. London: Alexandra Press. ISBN 978-1-85669-054-6.
• Goodwin, Godfrey (1971). A History of Ottoman Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27429-0.
• Porter, Venetia (1995). Islamic Tiles. London: British Museum Press. ISBN 978-0-7141-1456-9.
• Sumner-Boyd, Hilary; Freely, John (2010). Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City (revised ed.). London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 978-1-84885-154-2.
• Queiroz Ribeiro, Maria (2009). Iznik pottery and tiles in the Calouste Gulbenkian collection. Lisbon: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. ISBN 978-972-8848-58-3.

External links

• Photographs of the mosque by Dick Osseman