Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cut-outs; Ta'liq Kurans and Thuluth panels; Ta'liq manuscripts and
panels; Thuluth Nakshi collages and calligraphic compositions; the
Holy Relics and dar-ül kürsa; Thuluth and mirror writings; Ta'liq
panels, compositions, Thuluth and Nakshi Kurans; tuğras and
Nakshi Kurans; Hilyes (descriptions of the features and qualities
of the Prophet); embroidered inscriptions and works by women
calligraphers; calligraphic models and Muhakkak Kurans. There are
also examples of calligraphic inscriptions on wood, stone and glass,
and other examples of the use of calligraphy, including title deeds,
family trees, and even a talismanic shirt. There are also interesting
exhibits of calligraphic equipment, and one cell has been set up
with wax models showing a calligrapher instructing his students in
this quintessentially Islamic art form, wonderfully evoked in this
interesting museum.
Beyond the medrese, facing on the wide Ordu Caddesi that leads
down into the valley at Aksaray, are the splendid ruins of Beyazit's
hamam. This must have been among the most magniicent in the city,
and it is now being restored from near ruin; the fabric still seems to be
essentially in good condition. It is a double hamam, the two sections
being almost identical, the women's a little smaller than the men's.
Apart from the monumental façade housing the two camekâns with
their great domes, the best view of the hamam may be had from the
second floor of the University building just beyond; from here one
sees the elaborate series of domes and vaults that cover the soğukluk
and the hararet.
ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY AND THE BEYAZIT TOWER
On the north side of Beyazit Square stand the main buildings of
the University of Istanbul. Immediately after the Conquest Sultan
Mehmet II founded a medrese at the Aya Sofya mosque and a few
years later he built the eight great medreses which were attached to
his mosque; other such institutions were added by Beyazıt II, Selim
I, and above all by Süleyman, who surrounded his own mosque with
another seven medreses. In addition to Theology and Philosophy,
there were Faculties of Law, Medicine and Science. But the decline of
the Empire was accompanied by a corresponding decline of learning.
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