By Melpomeni Perdikopoulou | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of History and Archaeology

Description

According to its dedicatory inscription, the Mehmet Bey Camii was built in 1492–93 by Mehmed Bey (r. 1455–1506), the son of the Grand Vezir Ahmed Paşa and spouse of Bayezid II’s daughter Selçuk Hatun (1463–1508), whose monument is located a short distance to the West. It can be classified as ‘zaviyeli cami’ or a “multi-functional or T-shaped” mosque. This is an amalgamation type of building that was broadly diffused alongside religious and secular structures during the first two centuries of Ottoman rule.

It comprises of domed spaces arranged along the longitudinal axis. These are the prayer hall or mihrab compartment and the domed sofa. These two central units are flanked by side rooms – the tabhanes – which give access to the domed sofa unit. The mosque consists of a spacious central area covered by a massive dome (14.58 m.). Surrounding this central space from the east and west are four side rooms covered by lower, domed vaults. From the southern wall protrudes a pentagonal apse known as the “mihrab.” On the northern side, where the main entrance is located, there is a colonnaded open gallery with a five-part upper structure (portico or son cemaat yeri). The central section, above the entrance, is covered by a hemispherical dome, while the side spaces on either side are covered by lower, domed vaults.

The columns are made of white marble, as are the capitals, which are adorned with intricately crafted stalactite motifs. Above the entrance, there is a dedicatory inscription, in Ottoman script, stating the name of the founder and the year of establishment. The mosque is constructed of yellow sandstone, with meticulous ashlar masonry, except for the vaulted sections, which are built of bricks. Internally, the walls were covered with frescoes, of which a few sections survive today under the dome. Initially, all the vaults of the building were covered with lead. According to traveler descriptions, a magnificent garden surrounded the building.

Significance

The mosque of Mehmed Bey is the only surviving zaviyeli-camii in the city of Serres, and it is typologically related to the repair phase (second phase) of Koca Mustafa Mosque. They both are categorized as multifunctional buildings that are connected with Suffis and dervishes, which dominated the first two centuries of Ottoman rule. Such structures seem to have disappeared by the end of Suleiman I’s reign (r. 1520–66).

As the Ottoman Beylik evolved from a frontier state to an empire, it became necessary to emphasize orthodox Sunni Islam, advocated by the sultan and the central administration, rather than the heterodoxy of the dervishes and, consequently, the emphasis on the praying area than the space of the closed courtyard and the eyvans. These spaces gradually lost their autonomy and were almost integrated with the space of the closed courtyard and the prayer area. This development culminated in the years of Süleyman I (r.1520–66), when the prayer area became particularly large and the eyvans lost their original function. They were mere reminders of places of hospitality and accommodation.

The domical components of the T-shaped mosques are summarized in two congruent domed spaces arranged along the longitudinal axis. These are the prayer hall or mihrab compartment, the mosque space proper, and the domed sofa. These two central units are flanked by side rooms – the tabhanes – which give access to the domed sofa unit. The very definition of the type as multi-functional mosques derives from the existence of these flanking compartments. The fact that these compact volumetric units were directly accessed from outside and were connected with the focal mihrab unit only through the domed sofa shows that they were designed for dwelling purposes. These side wings are small spaces, with no prayer niches. For residential purposes, they were provided with the necessary closets, niches, and fireplaces.

In some cases, the gallery of the final assembly [son cemaat yeri] was added; this is the portico extending over the facade, which completes the architectural composition of the type. Finally, minarets were the only non-original parts, which most often constituted posterior additions. Although some early examples retain minarets that give out an original impression, a group of significant, early monuments do not bear a minaret. This confirms the theory that initially zaviyeli-mosques (or T-shaped mosques) did not function as communal mosques.

The Mehmed Bey Mosque constitutes one of the late manifestations of this building type, when such mosques had already lost their multi-functional dimension and were confined to their concrete function as places of gathering and prayer. This occurred through the loss of the domed-sofa section and the emergence of the mihrab unit as its main volumetric and operational component, to which the lateral spaces [tabhanes] still allowed access even after their significant reduction in size. In this case, the side compartments have no fireplaces or cupboards, hence they could not function as accommodation rooms. They simply are a remnant of the architectural type without any confirmed function.

It would seem that in the Mehmet Bey Camii, the religious function outweighs the social one, and the building operated exclusively as a mosque and not as an accommodation place for travelling dervishes. The typological parallels are the T-shaped mosques of Davud Paşa (1485) in Istanbul and Piri Paşa at Silivri (1530). The Mehmet Bey Camii is directly connected with the social status of its founder, who was a Grand Vezir and the husband of an Ottoman princess. Therefore, the building features a progressive layout with the mihrab niche and the integration of the side compartments emulating contemporary examples (i.e. the Alaca Imaret of Thessaloniki).

Further Reading

Balta, Evangelia. Les vakifs de Serres et de sa région XVe- XVIe siècles. Athens: Centre de recherches néo-helléniques, Fondation nationale de la recherche scientifique, 1995.

This study organizes the existing information on the vakifs of Serres and demonstrates the evolution of the institution during the first two centuries of Ottoman rule.

Bessi, Ourania. "The Ottoman Town in the Southern Balkans from the 14th to the 16th Centuries: A Morphological Approach." A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Centre of Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, School of Archaeology and Antiquity. College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham, 2014.

This thesis discusses the morphological patterns of Ottomanization performed in the cities of Dimetoka, Gümülcine, Siroz, and Yenice-i Vardar, by analysing the vakifs that were built in those locations.

Kuban, Doğan. Ottoman Architecture. Suffolk: Antique Collectors Club Dist, 2010.

This publication consists one of the most comprehensive and wide-ranging surveys of Ottoman architecture. It deals with how Ottoman architecture developed in parallel with the political structure of the Ottoman Empire.

Singer, Amy. “Imarets.” In The Ottoman World (Routledge Worlds), edited by Christine Woodhead, 72–85. London: Routledge, 2013.

The author provides a summary of the history, architectural forms, and the clientele of Ottoman imarets.