Natura May - June 2013 | Page 29

SOĞUKLUK KISMINDA BULUNAN FISKIYENİN CİDDİ ÖLÇÜDE TAHRİP OLMASI SONUCU, BU DEKORASYON ÖGESİ ÖZGÜN HALİNE SADIK KALINARAK YENİDEN TASARLANDI. THE FOUNTAIN AT THE CENTER OF THE FRIGIDARIUM HAD TO BE REDESIGNED TO LOOK LIKE THE ORIGINAL DESIGN SINCE IT WAS DAMAGED. the existence of hamam in Istanbul. The social transformations which took place in Tanzimat and Republican periods induced a changing spirit of hamam in Istanbul as an Ottoman architectural ensemble and as a social space. KILIÇ ALI PAŞA HAMAM Ottomans mostly built hamam as a part of a külliye, a building complex that containes a mosque, a school and other architectural units, like mausoleum, kitchen, etc. The Kılıç Ali Paşa Complex in Tophane, built as a pious foundation by the commission of the Ottoman Grand Admiral (Kaptan-ı Derya) Kılıç Ali Paşa and designed by the Master Architect (Ser Mimaran-ı Hassa) Sinan (1489 - 1588). The whole complex comprises a mosque, a madrasa, a hamam, a mausoleum, and a fountain that were constructed between 1578 and 1587. Sinan’s autobiographies list the mosque, the mausoleum and the commercial hamam. Also Evliya Çelebi wrote about the building complex, in the first volume of his famous travelogue. According to the geographer Mehmed Aşık (1555-1613), the complex was built on a piece of land reclaimed from the sea: “... And the mausoleum of the afore-mentioned Ali Pasha is near his Friday mosque. The Friday mosque, hamam, madrasa and mausoleum are sited on the lip of the sea. For their construction, a certain amount of ground was reclaimed by filling up the sea.” The hamam constructed in 1580 was one of the many income producing waqf properties in the vicinity of the complex. Especially an idea of a bath house located in front of the Cannon Foundry was particularly fitting the commercial potential of this area. The 17th century Armenian author Eremya describes the neighbourhood: “... The quarter where one encounters rogues, scoundrels and licentious mariners has the Friday mosque of Kılıç Ali Paşa, a light filled hamam ... and the dormitories of cannoniers where the chief cannonier resides.” According to Mustafa Selaniki (d. 1600), the Grand Admiral’s inheritance was confiscated by the sultan because he had no legal inheritors. In line with Selaniki, Kılıç Ali Paşa’s own registered waqfiyya mentions his children who passed away before his death. The property MAYIS - HAZİRAN 2013 / MAY - JUNE 2013 • NATURA 29