Mimar Sinan's Routes

Architectural historian and philosopher Bozdogan began planning this study while she was researching her book on Turkish architect Sedad Hakki Eldem. Now based in Boston, she situates Turkish architecture during the early decades of the 20th century within the contexts of nationalist impulses and modern architecture in western culture generally. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The sixteenth century Ottoman architect Sinan is today universally recognized as the defining figure in the development of the classical Ottoman style. In addition to his vast oeuvre, he left five remarkable autobiographical accounts, the so-called "Adsiz Risale", the "Risaletu'l-Mi'mariyye", "Tuhfetu'l-Mi'marin", "Tezkiretu'l-Mi'mariyye" and "Tezkiretu'l-Bunyan" that provide details of his life and works. Based on information dictated by Sinan to his poet friend Mustafa Sa'i Celebi shortly before his death, they exist in multiple manuscript versions in libraries in Istanbul, Ankara, and Cairo. The present volume contains critical editions of all five texts, along with transcriptions, annotated translations, facsimiles of the most important variant versions, and an introductory essay that analyzes the various surviving manuscripts, reconstructs their histories, and establishes the relationships between them.

This book is an attempt to outline the development of art and architecture in Anatolia. While covering the works made possible by this genius who holds an unsurpassed position in the history of Turkey, as well as the handicrafts of the same period, each in their own sections, the book tries to highlight both the architectural currents existing prior to Sinan and those architectural creations in Post-Sinan periods that remained faithful to his legacy. The final section rounds out by discussing such traditional art forms as woodworking, metal working, tilemaking, cloth, miniatures, carpets, hat (calligraphy) and tezhip ("gold gilding" or "illumination"), which served as complementary elements of architecture.