Mimar Sinan - Architect To An Empire

In 1489 Koca Mimar Sinan Aga was born in the small town of Agirnas near Kayseri.  Sinan was to become the greatest architect of the Osmani Empire (Ottoman).  There is speculation about the exact year of his birth and about his ethnic origin. His parents were of the Eastern Orthadox faith and he was given the name Joseph at birth. His father, a stonemason, may have been Albanian, Armenian or Greek. In his youth, he helped his father and learned many principles of construction.

In 1512, Sinan was conscripted into the military Janissary service and converted to Islam. He was sent to a school where he was initially taught carpentry and mathematics and later trained as an architect. Trained also as a Janissary officer, Sinan had a notable military career which continued until 1537. As an architect and engineer, he was involved in the building of military structures such as bridges as well as the construction of ships to carry the Osmani army. He also converted a number of churches into mosques.

Sinan was appointed "Architect of the Abode of Felicity" in 1539. Responsibilities included the construction of public works throughout the empire including roads, bridges and water supplies. His office was to expand over the coming years giving him great power supervising a large government department of architects, assistants and trainees. He was to remain in this post until his death in 1588, a service of almost 50 years.

Sinan is credited with having built almost 500 buildings and structures although many of these must have been designed by his architectural team. He developed Osmani architecture from a functional  to an innovative, progressive and decorative style. Almost 200 of his works still stand.

 The Suleymaniye Camii(mosque) complex in Istanbul. The largest of  Sinan's buildings

 Sinan built a number of bridges. This is at Visigrad in Bosnia Herzegovina

The Maglova Kemeri aqueduct crosses the Alibey River valley near Istanbul. It carries a water supply and was built between 1554 and 1562.

 

 

 

Regarded as Sinan's masterpiece, the Selimiye Camii is at Edirne

The Church of the Assumption in Uzundzhovo, Bulgaria was originaly a mosque. It was later converted to a church.

Sinan built a number of madrasas including the Vavuz Sultan Selim in Fatih, Istanbul