Sinan / Classical
Merkez Efendi Mosque (Zeytinburnu)
1552–1572 · Zeytinburnu / Merkezefendi
Small timber-roofed dervish tevhidhane rebuilt by Sinan beside the tomb of Sheikh Merkez Efendi; after the Sünbül Efendi lodge, the most important centre of the Sümbüliye branch.
- Minarets
- 1
- Built
- 1552–1572
- Architect
- Mimar Sinan
- Patron
- Şah Sultan, sister of Suleiman the Magnificent (daughter of Selim I)
- District
- Zeytinburnu / Merkezefendi
History
The Merkez Efendi Mosque sits in the Zeytinburnu district, outside the land walls opposite the Mevlanakapı gate, and anchors the Merkez Efendi külliye, which grew around the tomb of Sheikh Musa bin Muslihiddin (1463–1552), popularly known as Merkez Efendi — a caliph of Sünbül Efendi and head sheikh of the Sümbüliye branch of the Halveti order. The sheikh founded the lodge here in 1514. His disciple Şah Sultan (daughter of Selim I, sister of Suleiman the Magnificent) endowed and enlarged it and had Mimar Sinan rebuild the mosque. In 1836 Sultan Mahmud II carried out a large-scale renovation, recorded by his tughra and verses above the courtyard gate. After the 1925 closure of the tekkes the building continued in use as a parish mosque; further restorations were completed in 1965 and in 2010–2013 by Zeytinburnu Municipality.
Architecture
The mosque-tevhidhane has an almost square prayer hall (c. 17 × 16 m) with rubble-stone and brick walls, plastered exterior, and dressed limestone framing around doors and windows. Its defining feature is a timber hipped roof rather than a masonry dome — a hallmark of Sinan's smaller vernacular commissions beyond the monumental skyline. A single minaret with one şerefe is attached to the rectangular block. The interior has a wooden ceiling and a painted curtain-mihrab rather than a tiled one. The complex includes the mosque-tevhidhane, Merkez Efendi's türbe, a çilehane (seclusion cell), dervish cells, harem and selamlık, an imaret kitchen and dining hall, a hammam, the Abdülbaki Paşa Library, and extensive cemeteries.
In Sinan's evolution
A small dervish külliye Sinan rebuilt for Şah Sultan. Demonstrates his vernacular vocabulary for mahalle-scale Sufi tevhidhanes: rectangular plan, timber roof in lieu of masonry dome, single-şerefe minaret. For the same patron he also built the Şah Sultan Mosque in Eyüp (1555–56).
Sinan Tree →Facts
- Tradition credits Merkez Efendi (1463–1552) with inventing mesir macunu, a 41-spice medicinal paste said to have cured Valide Hafsa Sultan; its annual distribution at Nevruz in Manisa continues as a UNESCO-noted folk tradition. en.wikipedia.org
Photographs
