Architecture - Istanbul - page 364

Blue Mosque ( CLICK HERE )
GEORGE TSAFOS/GETTY ©
Each imperial mosque had a külliye (mosque complex) clustered around it. This was a
philanthropic complex including a medrese (Islamic school of higher studies), hamam,
darüşşifa (hospital), imaret (soup kitchen), kütüphane (library) and cemetery with türbes
(tombs). Over time, many of these külliyes were demolished; fortunately, many of the
buildings in the magnificent Süleymaniye ( CLICK HERE ) and Atik Valide ( CLICK HERE )
complexes are intact.
Later sultans continued Mehmet's palace-building craze. No palace would rival Top-
kapı, but Sultan Abdül Mecit I tried his best with the grandiose Dolmabahçe Palace (
CLICK HERE ) and Abdül Aziz I built the extravagant Çırağan Palace ( CLICK HERE ) and
Beylerbeyi Palace ( CLICK HERE ). These and other buildings of the era have been collect-
ively dubbed 'Turkish baroque'.