Sınan's Art And Selimiye

A true reading of the Selimiye of Sinan entails a true comprehension of the Ottoman- Turkish cultural component. Which components contributed to the shaping of the interpretation of Islamic culture in Anatolia and Thrace on the communal level? To vvhat extent were Anatolian, Mediterranean, European and Oriental components gathered together and digested? By vvhich layers of society, vvhich groups and vvhich tendencies vvere artistic forms govemed? To vvhich architects vvas Sinan closest -the architects of Isfahan and Herat or Anthemius and Isidore or Micheiangelo and Leonardo? Ör did he represent an artistic trend somevvhere in the middle? The Ottoman dome bears resemblances to the domes of Melikşah, the Timurids and the Mamluks, but it also bears resemblances to the dome of Hagia Sophia. vvhereas the domes of the Green Mosgue or Üçşerefeli bear no resemblance to it vvhatever. Putting these resemblances aside, hovv did OttomanTurkish culture nourish the artistic vvill to create Selimiye? Quite apart from visual resemblances and the vvishes of the sultans, a process of creation as consistent and profound as that evidenced in Selimiye could only have arisen from a long organic relationship vvith contemporary society. İt is clear that Selimiye, as the culmination of an architectural tradition of many thousands of years, is thoroughly Mediterranean, vvhile at the same time it assimilates the sensitivity peculiaf to an Islamic community that has remained thoroughly oriental. İt is because of this that the vvork created by Sinan gains nevv meaning vvith each successive reading.