Gallery
Description
Property Name: Selimiye Mosque, Selimiye Camii
Inventory No: 90-284-3
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2008-01-11
Country (State party): Turkey
Province: Edirne
Town:
Geographic coordinates: 41° 40′ 41.05″ N
26° 33′ 34.18″ E
Historic Period: Classic Ottoman (1453-1579)
Year of Construction: 1568-74
Style: Classical Ottoman
Original Use: Mosque
Current Use: Mosque
Architect: Architect Sinan
Significance
The monument is the climax of Sinan’s struggles to maintain a huge domed square and an expressive three dimensional composition. Its 31.28 meter dome sits on eight pillars. The four loftiest minarets in Turkey, the strong circular movements and the rich decoration are also remarkable.
Selection Criteria
i. to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius
ii. to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
Some of the tiles situated in the Sultan’s Balcony inside the Selimiye Mosque were stolen during the Turco-Russian War in 1877-78, and the Selimiye Arasta was restored in 1874. The Darülkurra was also restored during the early 1970’s, and it is in good shape now. There were restoration works accomplished on the Selimiye Mosque by the General Directorate of Waqf in the years 1956, 1960, 1966, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1992, and 2005. There were some cracks on the walls and the dome, and the tiles were partially ruined due to the water leak caused by the deterioration of the lead cover of the dome. Exclusive restoration interventions were applied in order to hinder deteriorations during the restoration works in 2005.
References
ed. Michell, George. Architecture of the Islamic World; Its History and Social Meaning. Thanes & Hudson, London, 1978.
Goodwin, Godfrey. Ottoman Turkey, Scorpion Publications LTD, London, 1977.
Goodwin, Godfrey. A History of Ottoman Architecture , The John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1971.
Gurlitt, Cornelius. Architecture of Constantinople, Foundation for Information and Documentation Services, Öncü Basımevi, Ankara, 1999.
Günay, Reha. Sinan the Architect and His Works, YEM, Istanbul, 1998.
Kuban, Doğan. Sinan’s Art and Selimiye, The Economic and Social History Foundation, Istanbul, 1997.
Kuran, Abdullah. Mimar Sinan, Hurriyet Vakfi Yayinlari, Istanbul, 1986.