Mimar Sinan Dönemi cami mimarisinde yazı ve kozmolojik içerik
A study of inscriptions and cosmological content in mosque architecure in the Age of Sinan
Yazar: CEMİLE FEYZAN ŞENGÜN
Danışman: PROF. DR. SİNAN MERT ŞENER ; PROF. DR. ALİ UZAY PEKER
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü / Mimarlık Ana Bilim Dalı / Mimari Tasarım Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2015
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture ; Sanat Tarihi = Art History ; Tarih = History
Dizin: Dini mimari = Religious architecture ; Dini semboller = Religious symbols ; Kozmoloji = Cosmology ; Mimar Sinan = Mimar Sinan ; Osmanlı mimarisi = Ottoman architecture ; Tarihi mekan = Historical place ; Türk-İslam mimarisi = Turkish-Islamic architecture ; Yazı = Writing ; Yazı sanatı = Calligraphy ; Yazıtlar = Inscriptions

Özet:
İnsanoğlu geçmişten beri düşüncesini ifade etmek için çeşitli araçlar kullandı. Bunlar dil, resim, yazı vb. gibi göstergeler içeren araçlardı; bu göstergeler aracılığıyla hem iletişim sağlanmakta, hem de içinde yaşanılan dünya anlamlandırılmaktaydı. Geçmişten beri filozofların da üzerinde durduğu bu konu, 20. yüzyılda bir bilim olarak ortaya çıkarak göstergebilim olarak adlandırılmıştır. Özellikle bu tarihten sonra bu alanda birçok felsefeci konuya eğilerek, çeşitli öğretiler ortaya koymuşlar ve göstergebilimin gelişmesine katkıda bulunmuşlardır. Yapısı gereği birçok bilimle ilişki kurabilen ve farklı kaynaklardan beslenebilen göstergebilim, disiplinler arası bir rol kazanmıştır. Bizim çalışmamız kapsamında da göstergebilim temel alınarak, bilimsel bazı terimler açıklanacak, kuramcılardan ve yaptıklarından tarihsel bir süreç içerisinde bahsedilecektir. Buradan yola çıkılarak mimarlıkta gösterge, mimarlık ve yazı ilişkisi açıklanmaya çalışılacak; Mimar Sinan camilerinde dönemin tasavvur anlayışının yazıyla nasıl ifade bulduğuna bakılacaktır.
Günümüzde mimarlık yapılarının da birer iletişim biçimi olarak kabul edildiğini görmekteyiz. Dil, yazı ve diğer iletişim simgeleri kadar yapılar da birer simge olma özelliği taşımaktadırlar. Mekân adeta bir dil gibi, kendini oluşturan tüm öğelerle bir dizge haline gelir. Yalnız mekân sadece yapısal bir takım araçları ve kendi maddesel gerçekliklerini ifade etmez. Mekân, içinde bulunduğu toplumsal yapıyı, dini inanışı, kültürü, ekonomiyi, iktidarı, teknolojiyi, bir takım soyut kavramları ve diğer şeyleri de içinde barındırır ve temsil eder. Bu da devrin kozmoloji anlayışının yapıya aktarılması ve simgelerle ifade edilmesi demektir.
Mimarlıkta, simgesel içerikli binalar deyince ilk akla gelen ise dini bir yapı olan ibadet mekânları olmaktadır. Dini yapılar, ait oldukları toplumun inanışlarına, toplumun ortak değerlerine ve ait olduğu zamana göre taşıdığı sembollerde farklılaşabilirler. Bu simgeselliği de yazıyla ve çeşitli tasarımsal elemanlarla göstermektedirler. Özellikle İslam mimarisinde resim ve çeşitli figüratif elemanların dini açıdan yasak olması sebebiyle İslam dini ibadet yapılarında yazı ve soyut bir takım süslemeler ön plana çıkmıştır. Yazının ön plana çıkma sebebi ise Kur'an-ı Kerim ve Hz. Muhammed'in sözleri olan hadis-i şeriflerdir. İbadet mekânında bulunan yazıyı okuyan kişi, doğrudan Allah'ın ve Hz. Muhammed'in muhatabı olur. Böylece insanların üzerinde yazıyla oluşturulan ilahi bir etki bırakılır.
Çalışmamızda cami mimarisinde kozmolojik boyutu, kavram-simge ilişkisiyle ele alıp, cami iç ve dış mekânında yer alan İslam yazı sanatından faydalanarak, kavram-simge irdelemesi yapacağız. Yazılardaki kozmoloji tasavvurunun anlam boyutunu (kavramı), bu boyutun anlam kattığı caminin yapısal elemanlarının ise simgeyi meydana getirdiğini görmekteyiz. Göstergeyi oluşturmak için gerekli olan kavram-simge, yani gösteren-gösterilen ilişkisini, camideki yazılar ve yapı elemanlarıyla oluşturacağız.
Mimar Sinan dönemi cami yapılarının bu zamana kadar hep tasarımsal ve yapısal olarak incelendiğini görmekteyiz. Dönemin dünya tasavvurunu ifade eden ve camilerde bunun karşılığını arayan bir çalışma ise henüz yapılmamıştır. Çalışmamızda amacımız, caminin biçim öğelerini ve yazı içeriklerini ayrı ayrı ve birlikte ele alarak, aralarındaki ilişkilerin neler olduğunu gözler önüne sermek ve mimarinin nasıl bir kozmolojik simgesellik barındırdığını incelemek olacaktır. 
Anahtar Sözcükler: Göstergebilim, kozmoloji, yazı, cami, ibadet.

Abstract:
We, humans, employ a great variety of tools to express our thoughts. These tools, like language, images, and texts are indicators. We communicate through them and make sense of the world. Their scientific study has recently been named semiotics, which is related to many other sciences due to its communicative structure. Hence, semiotics gained an interdisciplinary nature. Our study is based on the definition and function of symbol as delineated in semiotics. Our objective is to establish a relationship between architectural symbol and text in terms of the methodology developed in semiotics. 
Today, we understand that buildings can also be regarded as communication tools and even icons. These properties are expressed in language, scripts and other communication tools. Thus, space becomes a system with all its constituent elements in similar to language. It can symbolize social structure, religion, culture, economy, government, power, technology, and other things. Furthermore, buildings that create space represent the cosmological conceptions of their era by several symbols. But, we should never disregard the fact that space also expresses corporeality of the buildings as material objects.
The city, architecture and art, of course, have a special kind of communication. Even products of architecture and artworks constitute communication tools on their own. Because, form, material, content and so on vary according to the artist that created it or the society and the era in which the work was created. In this way, communication was created with a formed language between the ages through signs. Without doubt, we are not able to understand easily the language that differs among the periods, because of looking at the past era from today. We know all of the historical background and the life of the society. Scale, light and shadow, shape, proportion, color, texture and material create an architectural language and give us clues about these. Moreover, all of these indicate sign feature for us whereby we try to understand concept, ideas and feelings in the past. Architects, firstly, take construction techniques and material selection of their period into consideration when creating a building. Then, they make comments and give shapes appropriate for the structure of the program. Diversity of architectural program and original reviews of designer also affect the design and generally the final product reflects the mentality of that era. Thus, we also take the meaning and content of the work into consideration reviewing the structure. Subsequently, we try to make sense of feelings, comments, conception and philosophy of life about the form of the structure.
Architectural works not only reflect their cosmological conception and the characteristics of the period, but also testify the history exactly like a witness who has survived.  This witness consists of a several physical properties of works. Namely, building techniques tell us about construction techniques, materials, proportions and dimensions which are themselves buildings. Further, philosophy of life and religion are also reflected in the work with the architectural design. Objective data in these testimonies are measurable, physical and tangible indicators in the building. Subjective data can be considered as abstract indicators that reflect the worldview of the period in which the building was constructed. So to speak, this testimony is integrated with architectural design. These indicators seen as an inseparable part are actually located within a string. The coming together of the strings has been so natural and seamless. Thence, this case does not appear clearly. Therefore, the architecture created in its own language with these strings which bring the indicators together provides the communication between the ages.
Architecture has been a tool integrated with human life, which develops and changes with it. Buildings have become a language integrating architecture and cosmological conception of the era in time. Transmission between generations is provided via self-composed language. The main tool of this language is to give form. Architect or users leave their culture, faith, religion, life style and traditions in the society as signs to the building. Namely, they are transferred to the architectural buildings via specific indicators. In this way, indicators in the building shed light on this society.
When we mention the context of symbolism in architecture, first of all, religious buildings come to our mind as a worship place. Religious buildings differentiate according to faith of communities, common values of society, and time with symbols that have. This symbolism is represented by the writings and various conceptual elements. Images and various figurative elements are prohibited in terms of religion, which affected this situation especially in Islamic architecture. Therefore, text and some abstract figurative decorations come to the fore in Islamic worship buildings. The reason why text comes to the fore is holy Qur'an and the words of Muhammad named hadith. The person reading the text in the places of worship directly becomes an interlocutor with Allah and the Prophet Muhammad's words. Thence, a divine influence created with text is left on the people 
The buildings using symbolism most commonly have been the mosques in the geography of Turkey. These buildings due to the worship space have maintained their importance since the adoption of Islam by Turks. Therefore, mosque has an important place in the lives of the Turks. There are many symbols transmitted over the mosques and these symbols are located in different parts of the building. Dome has attracted the most attention in this context. It creates a unity with the construction, on the written texts and adornments. It covers up the worship space and thus brings subjectivity in the mosque architecture. Especially, it reached to peak point with the effect of Mimar Sinan in 16th century. Written inscription on the dome and on the other architectural elements reflect cosmological understanding of the period. Moving from this point, we have determined the boundaries of this study as the cosmological thought in the 16th century Ottoman mosque architecture.
We have discussed the cosmological thought in mosque architecture via concept-icon relationship in our study. Besides, we have made the consideration of concept-icon taking advantage of Islamic art of writing located in the interior and exterior parts of the mosques. Inscriptions constitute the meaning part of the cosmological conception. Structural elements of the mosque constitute the symbol that is attributed to that part of the building with this meaning. We will create the relationship between inscriptions and structural elements, which is necessary to create index via concept-icon through showing-shown relationship in the mosque.
Mosque buildings in the age of Mimar Sinan always have been examined in terms of the design and structural features until today. A study looking at the reflection expressing the worldview of that period in mosques has not been carried out yet. The method of research involves the collection of data related to the cosmological conception in the process of architectural history. Furthermore, our research method includes the analysis and interpretation process of the data in a theoretical framework. Data about the semiotics that supports our study is provided by literature survey. We consider the mosque form elements under separate and together headings in our study. Afterwards, we will seek what was going on in the background of the relationship between them. Then, we will examine symbolization of the text in architectural elements. Symbolization and meaning production of the text will be examined in mosque architecture. Text-cosmological meaning relations will be examined through the semiotic methods. Subsequently, these relations will be tried to be interpreted.
When examining the mosque architecture, we primarily consider the dome because of creating focal point of the mosque. We started to examine at the peak of the design: dome. Subsequently, we went down gradually. We examined half dome, pendants, intermediate half-domes, mihrab, windows and doors in a system.  So, we have seen that there is a hierarchy of design elements. Load transfer starting from the dome was transferred to the load-bearing walls via half dome, pendants, intermediate half-domes. The mihrab creates a unity with wall. Besides, the niche provides orientation. Windows and doors are an aperture that open to the outside. Inner and outer impression effects of windows and doors differ from each other in a small way. There is an invitation at the outside to get inside. Interior space tries to influence the person entering the worship place.
The Holy Quran and hadith, prayers and eulogies in some places express the worldview and the cosmological conception of the age of Mimar Sinan. Primarily, the mosque design of that period varies according to the rank of people who built the mosque and their financial situation. Besides, architectural program also changes according to the request of people who built the mosque. We do not give these details in our study. However, we have realized the changes in the text plan according to the request of people who built the mosque. This situation has contributed to the formation of diversity in the mosque architecture. We have considered all mosques of that age; the elements in the mosque design can be described as follows:
- Dome: It has the verse discribing magnitude, puissance, magnificence of Allah. Architectural expression of this text is dome in the center and overlooks the whole. It constitutes the most impressive location of places of worship. Consequently, it is the most appropriate place to describe the magnificence of Allah.
- Half Dome: Describes the principles of faith and worship. Architectural expression is half dome. Accordingly, these principles were placed in the most precious place that come after the dome. 
- Pendants: Pendants have a mediator role in load transfer in mosque architecture. Because of that, the names of the people who were describing Islam was written on the pendants. Specific names were choosen for that places. They also have a mediator role in early Islamic period. These names introduce people to Islam as an identifier.
- Intermediate Half-Domes: Prayer, worship and the direction of prayer, supplication and pray to Allah. Intermediate half-domes express the way people worship and pray.
- Mihrab: Tawheed, worship Allah only, the attributes of Allah, good news, prayer. Mihrab shows us original owner of the mosque. Also, it emphasizes that the worship is only for Allah. 
- Window: Explanations of related to religious principles to Muslims, encourages to worship. Window includes incentive and reminder. Thence, it aims to familiarize for worship. 
- Door: Good news of heaven, salutation, religious reminders. It has a duty that invites Muslims inside by incentivizing.
Consequently, inscriptions explain the fundamentals of Islam, Allah, the principles of faith and worship. These inscriptions are placed coherently on dome, transition elements and infrastructure in a hierarchy in relation to the structural hierarchy of the centralized and domed mosque space. Moreover, inscriptions are implemented in a certain narrative schema as entry, development and result sections in a similar manner to a scholarly texts. Nevertheless, we cannot make any inference that the building is a symbol of divine and/or His abode. Our research and study of findings have proven that to monumental mosques built in the sixteen century İstanbul were put to be tools of worship to God, where the hierarchical disposition in their structure from ground to dome is related to systematized rhetorics of tenets of faith presented in an architectural cosmic design after ordered physical universe created by Allah.
Keywords: Semiotics, cosmology, inscriptions, mosques, worship.