Publications & Papers
MİHRİŞAH VALİDE SULTAN MOSQUE
XVIII. century is an era which some improvements took place in the Ottoman Empire.Years of wars and out of date war technologies had caused a huge loss of land.Particularly the war against Russia and Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1787 and the lands which were lost after this war led to the death of Sultan Abdulhamid I. [1774-1789]. In the age of Sultan Selim III. who succeed to the crown in 1789 there was a series of innovation acts. As a result of this, on July the 14th 1793 / 5 Zilhice 1207 the building of Humbaracı and Lağımcı Ocağı Barracks in Halıcıoğlu was started, though at first the building site had been projected to be in Kağıthane or Okmeydanı. Soon after this, on the upper floor of a building constructed right next to the barracks, a Mühendishane-i Berri Hümayun and on the ground floor, a Mühendishane printing house and a library are put into service.
The construction of Humbaracıyan Barracks which is now called Mihrişah Valide Sultan Mosque was constructed and opened to worship on 26th of September 1794 / 1 Rebi’ülevvel 1209 by Mihrişah Valide Sultan who was the first lady of Sultan Mustafa the 3rd [1757-1774] and the mother of Sultan Selim the 3rd [1789-1807]. Lately it was neglected due to the construction of the Golden Horn Bridge that passes right over it and the population decay because of the confiscation around the neighborhood.
The last community place and the place of worship which are reached from two doors over a staircase rising from the entrance side and the two circling staircases that leads to the entrance door are above ground level. These kind of structures which are called Fevkani are generally constructed by Sultan or the people who belongs to the palace. Rather than the entrance front that is on the matching surface with the structure, there is a series of circle arched straps which encloses the ground floor on the other 3 fronts of the structure. There are ablution faucets on the open space behind the series of straps which are in the direction of Mecca and on the right side of the entrance. The place which was constructed in front of the minaret that is on the right side of the entrance should probably be a muvakkithane.
It is registered in the original plan of the mosque that the mosque had only one minaret and a second one was added later on. The relation between the high, square shaped minaret that is on the right side of the entrance and the structure of the mosque shows us that this minaret is original and the one on the left which is connected to the main structure of the mosque with a small bridge is added later.
The main entrance door opens to the long, narrow last community place. By means of a wooden staircase you arrive to the upper floor, and to the “Hünkar Mahfili” and the place for women. The upper floor of the last community place consists of a long place that has two marble straps in the middle and the two parts in the front of it. From these parts, which are seperated with wooden screens, the one the right side of the exit must be the “Hünkar Mahfili”.
The square planned main place of the mosque is very lighted and spacious due to the windows on the ground level and the ornamental revzen windows on the upper floor level. There are also long and narrow beşer windows on the four cornets in the direction of Mecca. On the right and left side of the entrance door there are muezzin mahfils on two narrow and long mermaid straps with wooden corners that carries the upper floor. It is known that in its age the right side of the main place [Sütlüce side] was dedicated to the members of the Lağımcı Ocağı and the left side [Hadımköy side] was dedicated to Humbarcı Ocağı members.
The niche of the shrine that is made from Marmara marble has an arched bezel and the decorations on the upper part reach up the revzen windows. The mimbar is made of wood and there are herbal decorations on the frontal and palace line. The ambo is also made of wood and it is placed on the right side of the harim and on an oval ground. The main place was constructed with a neo-classical style of window frames, inner domes and dome foots and it was enriched by pen-works consisting of mostly black, red and yellow colored herbal motives.
Around the barracks which had a Hünkar Kasr in the age it was constructed, there are places like an engineer school, forge, a Turkish bath, guesthouse and an iron foundry. In the later years, it is registered that Sultan Mahmud the 2nd [1808-1839] had a number of military ammo storehouse built on this place.
Mihrişah Valide Sultan Mosque which was recently under serious reperation and whose dome and minaret cones are covered with bullets has lost much of its original looks due to the decay of some barracks structures that constrains its environment, the rising of the road ground level and the Golden Horn Bridge. Though, it stil goes on enlivening its neighborhood.