Topkapı sarayının biçimlenmesine egemen olan tasarım gelenekleri üzerine bir araştırma (1453-1755)
Research on the role of traditional design sources on the shaping of Topkapı palace (1453-1755)
Yazar: NADİDE SEÇKİN
Danışman: PROF. DOĞAN KUBAN
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü
Derece: Doktora, 1990
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture
Dizin: Geleneksel tasarım = Traditional design ; Mimari tasarım = Architectural design ; Topkapı Sarayı = Topkapı Palace

Özet:
Osmanlı Devleti'nin politik yapısının gelişerek değiştiği bir dönemde inşa edilen Topkapı Sarayı, hazırlık dönemini bir ölçüde Edirne Sarayı'nda oluşturan Osmanlı saray örgütlenmesinin tanımlan mış mimari şemaya yansıtıldığı bir komplekstir. 15. yüzyıldaki asıl şemasını değiştirmeden 19. yüzyılda saray terkedilinceye dek kullanı lan Topkapı Sarayı, kuruluşundan bugüne, çok sayıda Türk ve yabancı eserlere kaynaklık etmiştir. Çalışmalarını Osmanlı kaynaklarına da yandıran Türk araştırmacıları ijLe, sınırlı gözlemlere ve aktarılan bilgilere dayandırılmış yabancı i eserlerin yazarları, sarayın yerle şimi, avlu törenleri ve binaları hakkında bazen farklı yorumları da içeren bilgiler vermişlerdir. 15. yüzyılda asıl şemasını tamamladığı kabul edilebilecek Topkapı Sarayı, sonraki dönemlerde sarayın artan nüfusu ve gereksi nimlerini karşılamak üzere avlu törenleri dışındaki bölümlerinde in şa edilen yapılarla saray-kent Niteliğindeki yapılar tipolojisine girmektedir. Topkapı Sarayı yerleşime1 asılı konumda, birbirini hiyerarşik olarak izleyen avlularda yer alan bağımsız yapılardan oluşmaktadır. Açık, yarı açık ve özel bölümlerden oluşan saray yerleşiminde, avlu törenlerine ilişkin yapılar Edirne Sarayı 'ndaki konumlarında düzen lenmişlerdir. Bu görünüm söz konusu yapıların saray işleyişinde ve mimari konumlarında tanımlanmış bir şemaya göre yer aldıklarını gös termektedir. Topkapı Sarayı tasarımında simgesel nitelikli kapı yapıları, özel bölümdeki Sultan' m kullanımına ilişkin köşk yapıları ile işlev sel ve simgesel nitelikli diğer yapılar grubu, çalışmanın asıl bölü münü oluşturmuştur. Topkapı Sarayı'nın kuruluşundan 18. yüzyıl ortalarına kadar olan dönemine ilişkin yerleşim düzeninin, seçilmiş binalarının ve mimari öğelerinin İslâm ve Türk mimari gelenekleri içindeki sürekli liğini saptamayı amaçlayan bu çalışmada, öncelikle biçimsel benzer likler ile işlevin biçimi doğrudan yönlendirici olması durumunda, işlevin sürekliliği ve biçime yansıması araştırılmıştır.

Abstract:
The aim of this study is to bring into light the his torical background of the design of the Palace of Topkapi and to establish the lineage of the conceptual organization of the palace of the Ottoman sultans in the history of Turkish- Islamic architectural history. The palace is composed of independent small buildings and a Harem of very complex plan. It underwent an almost continuous rebuilding process de pending on the whims of the ruling sultans and their women. Since the archaeology of the Topkapi palace is still in infancy, and chronological restitution of its components, especially that of the Harem, needs a great deal of further studies, my research has been mainly concentrated on datable buildings and architectural elements. Accordingly, apart the general layout of the palace which constitutes the first part of my dissertation, the following items have been discussed. a. The Gates, b. Independent kiosks and pavilions, c. Traditional Plan Elements, d. Architectural Details. The Layout Although away from each other in space and time, a similar concept of palace design may be disscerned in various cultures flourished from Eastern Mediterranean to China. In the Egyptian, Hittite, Assyrian, Old Iranian, Abbasid, Ghaznavid, Indian and Chinese palaces a sequence of courtyards arranged according to a hierarchy of privacy -frem the public to the most intimate domain of the palace household- may be observed. Thus, independent of the cultural and religious context, this hierarchy in privacy may be ac cepted as a common pattern of palace design in the so- called Eastern World. The theory according to which the layout of the Topkapi Palace was organized following the scheme of the.. - vii -traditional army camp is based on "tertib-i Osmani" or "Ottoman Arrangement" mentioned by Tursun Beg in his book "Tarih-i Ebu'1-Feth Sultan Mehmed Han". For E. Esin the palaces of the Karakhanids were but a replica of their "Ordu", slightly islamized. But it needs a great effort of imagination to reconstitute the transformation from the tents of an army camp to a palace design. Neverthless, the arrangement 6f the general layout could have some relationship with the royal "ordu" of the nomads. But its direct transfer to the Ottoman domains is debatable. The planning of palace precincts as walled cities inside the capital cities was common in Chinese, Islamic and Turkish traditions. In the fifteenth century, ldris-i Bitlis-i defines the palace of Topkapi as composed of pavilions. Yet to reach architectural sources of the Mehmed Il's palace is highly problematical. It should certainly be based on the young sultan's former experience with palace buildings and on the imagery of Islamic, Byzantine and Western Palaces prevalent in his days. While the hierarchical arrangement of the courtyards follows traditional Eastern models, the independent kiosks inside these courtyards and gardens, and their informal organization is quite different from the Islamic prototypes. Mehmed II whose great religious complex in Istanbul was de signed on a most formal geometry, does not seem to have the same attitude in his palace design. It is also charae- teristic for Topkapi Palace not to follow the monumentality of Islamic and Byzantine palaces. At this stage of our information this characteristic can only be attributed to a certain reluctance for monumentality always observed in the Turkish architectural history, which has evidently been the outcome of a socio-cultural preference. One may say that the Topkapi Palace, except a most general pattern of hierarchical alignement along a longi tudinal axis, did not copy and prototype. By its assymetrical dispositions, by its pavilions scattered in the gardens and totally a-typical Harem complex, it is a specifically Turkish palace. On the other hand, its constituent elements are connected to historically known examples of the Turkish and Islamic architecture in the Eastern Islamic realm. The Gates Those are the most symbolic elements of the palace design. The three gates of the Palace, arranged on a slightly off-axis position, have different shapes. The imperial Gate, Bab-i Hümayun has a plan pattern found in many Near Eastern buildings. But the idea of a gate building topped by a wooden pavilion which is reserved to keepers of the gate or soldiers is probably of Chinese origin. The gate to the palace proper where many important - viii -ceremonies took place, Bab-us-Selam, the Middle Gate, has two different physiognomies: It has an expression of power with its two towers on the exterior. But the facade towards the second courtyard has a portico creating this semi-open atmosphere of the second court where the sultan meets with his ministers. The Gate flanked by two towers has its immediate predecessors in the gateways of Seljuk madrasas. But this type of gate has also been common in the Iranian architec ture. Earlier noted examples of gates flanked by towers are found in the desert castles öf the Omayyads which were modelled after the late Roman architecture in Syria. The third gate,' Bab-us-Saade, the Gate of White EunucSjis the entrance to the private part of the palace as well as to the Audience Hall of the Sultan. It is much more simpler than the two other gates. The entrance portico is a little raised above the level of porticoes surrounding the second courtyard, and has a dome and large eaves. Its architectural concept is consonant with the modesty of the architecture of the Harem. Although vastly different in their architectures all these three gates have two common characteristics: They have axially planned simple doorways and domed ceilings. Independent Kiosks and Pavilions The kiosks and pavilions in the palace, built during different reigns, present a rich variety. The Fatih Kiosk may be related to the tradition of the Turkish Hayat House; Çinili Kiosk with its completely centralized plan and facade composition is of Irano-Central Asian origin. The so-called Has Oda, i.e. the imperial chamber composed of four dome covered rooms, repeat a most used space pattern without any specific formal emphasis related to its func tion. Thus from the beginning both the major building forms and details of execution witnesses to various origins and to a rather eclectic taste. The kiosk of Murad III is a domed room with an anteroom. Bagdad and Revan kiosks are centrally planned; their dome covered center are enlarged by iwan like recesses. The pavilion called Sepetçiler has a similar main room, but has on its entrance side ancillary spaces and is combined with a spacious verandah. The common characteristics of these independent kiosk buildings are their masonry construction, porticoed - xx -entrances, main rooms enhanced by domes and very simple plan patterns. By the eighteenth century a character istic change is the preference for timber construction as seen in the Sofa Kiosk and the Kiosk of Osman III. Timber structures allowed the architects to have very large, almost modern window openings, sometimes covering an entire wall of a room. Traditional Plan Elements The Audience Room (Arz Odası) with its surrounding arcade corresponds to a well known: model of garden pavilions of Eastern Islamic architecture. The Kubbealti (or Divan) is planned on a simple and linear scheme with its three domed rooms. But by its dimensions, entrance porch and its tower it constitutes one of the main ele ments in the entire palace complex to express a symbolic presence. The great domed hall of the Harem, Hünkar Sofası do not preserve its original shape. Its most probable form was a dome covered iwan with a semi-open gallery. Its gallery is a universal Near Eastern form found in houses and palaces, such as the "Makad" of the Egyptian palaces. The basic form of the room can easily be associated with Egyptian Qa'a. But its roofing system makes it closer to the Eastern Islamic, i.e. Iranian and Central Asian traditions, albeit the features of the Ottoman style is obvious. Architectural Details The proportions of the domed rooms, the room entrances, the systems of fenestration of the facades have been studied in order to investigate their typological consistency. In the proportioning of the domed rooms the early period has less consistency. But after the first half of the sixteenth century the propor tion of rooms approached' a cube. The domes are almost invariably half sphere. A characteristic of -the planning is the asymmetrical disposition of the entrances. This lack of symmetry is - x -also found in the Turkish vernacular architecture. Although it seems secondary to the centralizing tendency found in the planning of pavilions, it must be underlined that, in the planning practice there is always a disregard concerning the perfection of symmetry. In the door openings some numerical proportions became customary: For example the ratio 4/7 is commonly used in door openings from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century.