Edirne and My Favorite Mosques

Rain.  Pouring rain, stinging rain, drizzling rain; you name it and that type probably fell on us during our daytrip to Edirne.  Beginning at the standard time of 8:30, our journey took about four hours out but maybe less than three back.  In between, the afternoon in wet Edirne gave us four unique mosques that made the long travel times worth it.  The first two mosques made numbers one and two on my all-time Turkey mosque list, while the last two showed a uniqueness missing from most of their Istanbuli brethren…

Selimiye Mosque

One of the many design patterns surrounding the Mamluk arches

This was my favorite mosque of the entire trip.  Grandness, artistry and the “wow” factor were all on display here.  Constructed by Sinan between 1569 and 1575, this work was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and is regarded as the gem of the architect’s long and illustrious career.  At first glance, I understood why.

Upon walking in the entrance, my eyes were drawn to the grandness of the dome.  Comparable to the Haghia Sophia dome, the grandness of this feature was overpowering; my eyes were pulled upward and, like reversing a fall, they were not able to pan downward until the fullness of the dome was brought into perspective with a thud. 

The mosque’s color scheme was excellent, alternating between harmonious patterns of blue and burnt orange from eye-level to the most concave point of the grand dome.  Most of the arches were of the Mamluk design of alternating orange and white stones, but each of them cut across unique wall patterns.

Eight columns supported the dome; four minarets flanked the complex and sixteen Qur’anic verses lined the walls of its courtyard.  Below, a full shopping complex lined a “T”-shape design, offering trinkets of every size and shape.  Though each Sinan complex was supported by merchants renting space at the base level, this complex sat on its own square away from the rest of commerce, making the Selimiye appear more autonomous than most. 

In all, these factors created a complex without equal (and would remain so).

Old Mosque

The city’s oldest mosque, Sultan Beyazit I’s oldest son, Süleyman, began it but his youngest son, Mehmet I, finished it.  Divided into four massive peirs and nine domed sections, the Old Mosque was first known as the Süleymaniye and then the Grand Mosque before time and additional places of worship made “Old” the most appropriate moniker.

Another favorite (probably in the “Top Three” with the Selimiye and Grand Mosque of Bursa), this mosque was commissioned by Murat II in 1403 and finished in 1414.  Featuring bold, black calligraphy of tüğras and Qur’anic verses on eggshell walls, the impressive interior appeared the most spacious yet intimate.  I was drawn by the tribal-like designs of the Caliphs’ names as well as the numerous (at least three) large tüğras within the mosque’s interior.

After seeing many Sinan mosques, these aspects made this creation unique and fresh.  Though it was similar in scope and design to the Grand Mosque in Bursa (or maybe because of it), the feelings invoked in this structure exceeded those felt in any of the Sinan structures save the Selimiye.

Mosque of the Three Balconies

The mosque's mihrab and, right, part of the minbar

An interesting specimen, this mosque was the first of the tour where the width exceeded the length or depth, creating a unique example of pre-Sinan work.  Further, each of the three minarets was unique in height and design, another first. 

Finished in 1447, it was the first complex to have an open courtyard unlike its predecessors in Edirne or Bursa.  Some have attributed it to providing the example for the later Istanbul design scheme of Sinan.  Though there was not a preponderance of flash to this mosque, its wide expanse and openess (the mihrab and minbar can be seen from everywhere in the prayer space except directly behind two of six main dome supports) was endearing.

Beyazit II Mosque and Museum

By the last stop of the trip, I was ready for a quick in-and-out stop but was pleasantly surprised to be drawn into a longer visit to this impressive complex.  Despite its quaint mosque, the rest of this complex was the most impressive of all the mosques we visited.   

A display in the medical museum depicting musical therapy

First, this complex provided more history than any of the other fifteen or so mosques combined, as recent renovations have opened an impressive Ottoman medical museum.  Second, international cooperation opened a museum for the Ottoman school of medicine; combined, these two museums were awarded distinguished status from the European Council of Museums in 2007. 

Images from one of the first medical books in Turkey to include pictures

Third, in a small corner of the second museum, a few of us were given a demonstration to the Turkish marbling art technique as well as the opportunity to purchase a few works at a very cheap price.  This technique is an oil-based painting art-form where the artist mixes paints in a basin, creates a multi-colored picture with needles, sticks and comb-like apparatuses and then sets a paper atop the mixture to absorb the desired portrait.  Taking ten minutes, the entire procedure was an impressive display of craftsmanship, and I had to buy two prints, a tüğra and a tulip.

Our demonstrator begins by drops of oil-based paint into a tray filled with an inch of water

After mixing the various colors with fine-tipped tools and briefly dabbing a sheet of paper, we were left with a tulip print

Though it was rainy and the city tour dominated by mosques, the trip was a good companion to the previous eastern and northern trips.