Category: Public
Type: Social Complex
Location: Merkez, Bahariye Ave. Eyüpsultan
Date: 1792-1796
Period: Ottoman Empire
Designer: Mehmed Arif Ağa, Ahmed Nurullah Ağa
Photos:
The Mihrisah Valide Sultan Complex, located in the Eyupsultan district of Istanbul, was commissioned by Mihrisah Valide Sultan, the mother of Sultan Selim III, and constructed between 1792 and 1796. Designed by the chief architects of the period, Mehmed Arif Aga and Ahmed Nurullah Aga, the site is considered one of the most prominent examples of Ottoman Baroque and Rococo architectural styles. The ensemble is a comprehensive social complex that includes a magnificent imaret, or soup kitchen, which remains the centerpiece and continues its original function of providing free meals to the needy more than two centuries after its founding. Architecturally, the complex is distinguished by its ornate marble facade featuring a grand twelve-sided polygonal tomb, a richly decorated sebil with undulating baroque lines, and a series of drinking fountains, all characteristic of the aesthetic modernization during the late eighteenth century. The adjacent burial ground, or hazire, serves as a significant historical site, housing the tombs of the Valide Sultan and several high-ranking Ottoman officials, effectively integrating philanthropic, educational, and funerary functions within a single urban campus.
