The Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque, also known as the AksarayValide Mosque, is an Ottoman imperial mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. It is located at the intersection of Ordu Street and Atatürk Boulevard in the Aksaray neighborhood. It is also located next to Pertevniyal High School which was also built by the order of Sultana Pertevniyal in 1872. The mosque attracts 400-500 worshipers during prayer times and over 2,500 worshipers during prayer on Fridays. The location of the mosque was regarded as highly important to the valide sultan and royal family, as Aksaray was a vital commercial center during the Ottoman period and an important district altogether. Not only was this region an effective area for commerce, but was also known for its overwhelming beauty, with plentiful gardens and orchards.
History
One of the last mosques built in Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire, the Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque was built for the Pertevniyal Sultan, wife of Sultan Mahmud II and mother ofSultan Abdülaziz. It was designed by Sarkis Bey of the Ottoman ArmenianBalyan family of architects. The construction work began in November 1869, and the mosque was finished in 1871. The dating of the monument can be found on an inscription above the gate exiting to the courtyard. Other documents indicate that the foundations were created during different ceremonies in Sha'ban 1285/ November 1869. Pertevniyal Sultan died in 1884, thirteen years after the completion of the mosque, and was then placed within it.
Architecture
The building is an example of Turkish Rococo with admixture of classical Ottoman, Moorish, Turkish, Gothic, Renaissance, and Empire styles. These different types of architectural styles were regarded as garish and lacking the classical Ottoman grandeur. It is rather unique in the details of the rock work. The usage of different elements portrays the influence of the eclectic viewpoint that was common during this era. The structure also seems to draw influence from both Indian, North African, and Andalusian architecture. Its design can be noted as a projection of the emerging power of Ottoman women of the time, as the mosque is built namely after Pertevniyal Valide Sultan, a woman and part of the royal family. The architecture can also be said to provide a relishing praise of the sultans during a trying time of the Ottoman dynasty.
Exterior
The mosque is made up of several different structures. There are buildings that surround the central mosque and create a complex. These buildings consist of a tomb, sabil, a fountain, clock-room, library, and madrasa. The central mosque itself follows the traditional plan with a square prayer-hall that measures 10 m x 10 m, and a single-dome exterior resembling Indian architecture. The dome is separated from the walls and brought inward while being supported on a tall, 12-sided drum. Directly in front of the central mosque resides a two-story building with two minarets attached to it. This building is part of the complex and consists of the portico for latecomers, men's and women's areas, and the sultan's loge. The mosque's east, west and south façades are all embedded with turrets and the outward-facing projections of their central sections are each capped with a triangular pediment. Each piece of the pediment has two rows with three windows as its featured design.
Interior
The interior, much like the façades, is elaborately decorated. Blue is the main-focused color featured throughout the many painted decorations. There are many classical Ottoman details surfaced on many of the walls. These include blind niches, muqarnas, arch motifs, arabesques, and Chinese-inspired floral arrangements. The tomb of Sultana Pertevniyal is also located in the central mosque. The interior also features a plain, marble mihrab and minbar. The building is also stylized with a bold Oriental inclination.
Architect(s)
The Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque is argued to have been built by several different architects. Several researchers believe the complex to have been built by Montani Effendi, but others believe it to be created by Sarkis Balyan. It is also insinuated that Agop Balyan and Osep participated in both the design and construction of the mosque. The World Digital Library has yet another belief: it was designed by the Armenian architect Hakob Balyan. The construction is suggested to have taken three years to complete.
Modifications
In the year AH 1328/ AD 1911, the madrasa of the Pertevniyal Valide Sultain Mosque complex burned down. The clock-room, sabil, and the tomb were removed during the renovation of Aksaray Square. After numerous roadwork projects, the mosque remained below the street level, however, parts of the tomb were relocated to the hazire neighboring the tomb of Sultan Selim III. Eventually the tomb of Pertevniyal Valide Sultan was reconstructed in the complex and made from the original pieces of her tomb. Her body was relocated first to the Topkapı Palace, second to the tomb of Sultan Mahmud II, and finally to her own tomb where it still remains. The mausoleum was removed twice, and eventually demolished in 1958.
Mentions
A photo-chrome print of the Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque is featured in the “Views of People and Sites in Turkey” from the catalog of the Detroit Publishing Company. The Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque is mentioned in The Architects of Ottoman Constantinople: The Balyan Family and the History of Ottoman Architecture by Alyson Wharton. The mosque is mentioned in "RE-THINKING HISTORIOGRAPHY ON OTTOMAN MOSQUE ARCHITECTURE:NINETEENTH CENTURY PROVINCIAL SULTAN MOSQUES; A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY" by Ceren Katipoğlu Özmen. The mosque is featured in the Museum with No Frontiers.
