Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex
| Kılıç Ali Pasha Mosque | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Basic information | |
| Location | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Geographic coordinates | 41°01′35″N 28°58′51″E / 41.026373°N 28.980928°E |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Mimar Sinan |
| Architectural type | Mosque |
| Architectural style | Ottoman architecture |
| Groundbreaking | 1578 |
| Completed | 1580 |
| Minaret(s) | 1 |
The Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex (Turkish: Kılıç Ali Paşa Külliyesi) is a group of buildings designed and built between 1580 and 1587 by Mimar Sinan, who at the time was in his 90s. The mosque itself was constructed in 1578-1580.
It is located in the Tophane neighbourhood of the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is named after Kılıç Ali Pasha.
It consists of a mosque, a medrese, a hamam, a türbe, and a fountain. Originally, it had been on the coastline, but since the sea in front of it has been filled again, it is now surrounded by other buildings. The complex was built on the orders of the Kapudan-i Derya (Grand Admiral) Kılıç Ali Pasha. When the Pasha was told to build the complex on the sea for being the Chief Captain, he had the mosque built on the land reclaimed from the sea.
There are two chronograms that date the mosque, both yielding the year 988 in the Hijri (Islamic) calendar (1580 in the Julian calendar).
One of the two inscriptions, at the outer entrance of the complex, features a 4-verse poem in jali thuluth calligraphic script in Ottoman Turkish by the poet Ulvî and written by calligrapher Demircikulu Yusuf:
Mîr-i bahr â’nî Kılıç Paşa Kapudan-ı zemân
Yaptı çün bu camii ola yeri Darüsselâm
Hâtif-i kudsî görüp Ulvî dedi tarihini
The letters in the final line, “May this be a house of worship for people of the faith,” add up to the number 988.
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Wikipedia