Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Mosque

Late Ottoman / Baroque

Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Mosque

1589–1855 · Üsküdar / Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi

Photo: Aralıkoz28 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The lodge's heart is the wooden türbe of Sheikh Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi, founder of the Celveti order: for four centuries pilgrims — and once sailors heading to sea — have climbed the Üsküdar hill to his grave.

Minarets
1
Built
1589–1855
Architect
Architect unknown
Patron
Sheikh Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi (founder); rebuilt by Sultan Abdülmecid I
District
Üsküdar / Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi

History

The complex was founded by the Sufi sheikh Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi (1541–1628), founder of the Jelveti (Celveti) order and spiritual advisor to several Ottoman sultans; construction of the tekke (lodge) began around 1589 and around 1598–1599 the sheikh himself converted it into a mosque by adding a minbar. Hüdayi was buried here after his death in 1628, and his türbe on the Asian shore of Istanbul has been one of the most visited shrines in Turkey for four centuries. Ottoman navy sailors traditionally visited his grave before going out to sea. The building that stands today was rebuilt in 1855 by Sultan Abdülmecid I after a fire devastated the complex. The minaret, destroyed by lightning in 1910, was later repaired.

Architecture

The mosque sits on high ground in Üsküdar and forms part of a large külliye covering some ten thousand square meters, including an imaret (soup kitchen), tomb, library, sultan's gallery, şadırvan fountain, dervish cells and the sheikh's house. The building has a lead-covered wooden roof and a single minaret of cut stone set on its left side. Hüdayi's wooden tomb stands beneath a central dome supported by four marble columns. The present structure dates to the late Ottoman period and reflects the mid-19th-century reconstruction.

Facts

  • Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi (1541–1628) was the founder of the Jelveti (Celveti) Sufi order and spiritual advisor to several sultans. en.wikipedia.org
  • His türbe on Istanbul's Asian shore has been one of the most visited shrines in Turkey for four centuries. en.wikipedia.org
  • The building standing today was rebuilt in 1855 by Sultan Abdülmecid I after a fire. kulturenvanteri.com
  • The complex has a single cut-stone minaret, which was destroyed by lightning in 1910 and subsequently repaired. kulturenvanteri.com
  • Hüdayi's wooden tomb stands under a central dome held up by four marble columns. en.wikipedia.org

Photographs

Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Mosque
Photo: M. PINARCI · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Sources

Late Ottoman / Baroque