Architectural Description
[Picture source: © 2007 Stefan Weber] [Picture source: © 2007 Stefan Weber] Layout Plan
In his study of the mosque, David described it as an awkward structure. [7] In fact, this awkwardness has resulted from the combination of central, regional and local architectural features on one side and from the drastic subsequent interventions on the other side. Therefore, only the original features will be described below while the changes will be explained in the following paragraph.
The mosque has three entrances leading directly to the courtyard. (Fig. 3) The main entrance is reached midway along the northern suq, and is signaled by a crossing cupola of three raised domes. (Fig. 4, 5) The layout of the mosque follows the traditional axial approach; the main entrance to the courtyard aligns precisely with the main entrance of the prayer hall, which in turn aligns with the mihrab centered on the qibla wall. The portal of the main entrance is richly decorated in contrast to those of previous Ottoman mosques in the city. It is built entirely with polychrome masonry and surrounded by a wide frame carved in geometrical ornaments. The doorway is the topped with an elaborated crested segmented arch and set inside a niche ending with a pointed arch instead of the usual muqarnas hood. (Fig. 6, 7) The other two entrances of the mosque are set at equivalent positions on the eastern and western sides. They are built in an identical manner; simpler than the main entrance. The doorways are built with polychrome masonry and set within pointed niches. (Fig. 8, 9)
The prayer hall occupies the southern side of the spacious rectangular courtyard. [8] Along the northern side, there are traces of a no longer extant portico. Judging from the remaining marks, it was likely of 11 bays. (Fig. 10) Originally, an elaborated water basin of yellow marble, covered by a dome, occupied the middle of the courtyard. Behind the prayer hall, there is a rear garden containing the mausoleum under which the tombs of Behram Pasha and his brother are located in an underground burial vault.
The prayer hall is preceded by a noticeable long portico of 9 bays. (Fig. 11) The remaining original bays are covered by small domes and supported by elegant columns with muqarnas capitals. (Fig. 12, 13) Water spouts emerge just below the plain cornice in the middle of each spandrel. The reconstructed minaret rises from the western side of the portico. There is no description of the original minaret. However, it was praised by the Ottoman traveler Evliya Chelebi as “the most beautiful one in Aleppo” when he visited the city in 1671-72. [9]
On both sides of the prayer hall, there is an iwan, which drops back to the garden wall. Each iwan is provided on its lower level with a mihrab and two windows overlooking the garden behind. Above, another small window gives further light to the space. (Fig. 14) The western iwan gives access to the minaret and the western gallery, which overlooks the interior space of the prayer hall, while the eastern iwan gives the access to the eastern gallery and to a small room, which is secluded in the eastern corner and detached from the prayer hall. This room may have been a guest room, perhaps for prestigious visitors. Since they have no earlier models, these two iwans have provoked some discussion. David considered them a local "Aleppine feature" and mentioned another later example, at the 18th century al-Madrasa al-Uthmaniyya in Aleppo. [10] Other researchers argued that these iwans may have been derived or evolved from other regional features. Watenpaugh considered them a development of the two tabhane rooms flanking the prayer hall in the T-type Ottoman mosques. [11] The two closest examples in the region are the mosques of Husrev Pasha in Aleppo (1546) and Iskender Pasha in Diyarbakir (1551). (Fig. 15) Whatever its origin is, this peculiar feature of exterior iwans may have been originated in Behram Pasha's mosque in Aleppo. Aesthetically, the iwans give a dynamic spatial quality under the portico and functionally, they provide a kind of additional prayer space as they are equipped with mihrabs.
Apart from this specific feature, the layout of the prayer hall’s façade conforms to the central Ottoman model. The portal in the middle is flanked by a window and a small mihrab on each side. The portal is built with polychrome masonry and recesses within a large niche topped by a pointed arch. (Fig. 16) By lacking the muqarnas hood, the portal came closer to the local idiom than the portals of the previous Ottoman mosques in the city. The tympanum of the niche is covered by carved stone ornaments and muqarnas strips (Fig. 17) recalling the portal of the Mamluk Oghul Bek mosque (1480). (Fig. 18) The windows of the prayer hall are also built with polychrome masonery and surmounted by reliving arches. (Fig. 19)
The prayer hall is a domed cube with a five-sided apse on its southern side. Originally, a large dome resting on eight arches and four squinches covered the hall. The remains of the squinches at the hall’s corners have retained roundels and 3 rows of muqarnas corbelling. (Fig. 20, 21) According to David, the original dome covered a space of 324 m2 which made the interior space of Behram Pasha's mosque the largest prayer hall of the ottoman mosques of Aleppo. [12] On the four sides of the hall there are deep recesses carved as window casements. On the lateral sides, every recess accommodates a mihrab on its southern face. (Fig. 22, 23, 24) The recess-plan was a structural arrangement developed by Architect Sinan. The earliest example of this arrangement is Hadım Ibrahim Pasha's mosque at Silivrikapi in Istanbul (1551) (Fig. 25) while the two examples, closely related to Behram Pasha's mosque, are al-Adiliyya mosque in Aleppo (1565) and Behram Pasha's mosque in Diyarbakir (1972-73). [13] (Fig. 26) Similar also to these two mosques, there are upper galleries reached from staircases built into the walls. The facades of the galleries consist of double arcades set on thin columns, which provide a rich dynamic articulation of the space. (Fig. 27) Two small rooms are inserted into the northeast and northwest corners of the hall and can be accessed from the adjacent recesses. According to the deed, these rooms functioned as storage spaces for rugs, carpets, oil lamps and candles.
The projecting apse on the southern wall of the hall houses the mihrab niche on its southern end and four windows on the other sides. (Fig. 28) Five arches, built with polychrome masonry, on columns at the corners frame the mihrab and windows. (Fig. 29, 30) Above each arch, another window is opened below the thin cornice which defines the beginning of the covering vault. Although the five-sided apses appeared in the Ottoman architecture in the late 15th century, this feature was rarely used in Istanbul. On the other hand, Watenpaugh has notified that these apses constituted a building tradition in Diyarbakir even before Ottoman conquest of the city and cited several examples such as the Ayni Minare mosque (1489), Husrev Pasha's mosque-madrasa (1521-28) and Hadim Ali Pasha's madrasa (1537-43). [14] Therefore, the apse of Behram Pasha’s mosque is more likely a regional influence rather than a central one.
The mihrab and minbar are reminiscent of Aleppine conventions of such architectural features. The splendid mihrab is made in yellow lime stone and colored marble and features the general characteristics of the Ayyubid style. (Fig. 31) This similarity is apparent when this mihrab is compared for example with the one of Madrasa al-Firdaws (1235-36). (Fig. 32) The niche consists of a fairly deep concavity flanked by inset colonnettes with muqarnas capitals and framed by a heavy continuous molding. The concavity itself is covered by alternating panels of light and dark marble. These panels are topped by small arches that give them the appearance of small niches. The hood of the niche is covered by an elaborated muqarnas of five levels. The niche is topped by a polychrome interlaced voussoirs and spandrel. The minbar is of white marble and it features geometric marble mosaics on its sides.
Footnotes
[7] David, Domaines et Limites de l'architecture d'empire, 184.
[8] The deed emphasizes the dimensions of the courtyard: 29 cubits (dhira') from north to south and 50 cubits from east to west. According to Watenpaugh this emphasis was probably because securing such an empty space was difficult in the commercial center where property values were very high. See Watenpaugh, The Image of an Ottoman City, 85.
[9] Çelebi, Seyahatname, 9:375. The description was cited by Watenpaugh, The Image of an Ottoman City, 86.
[10] David, Domaines et Limites de l'architecture d'empire, 183.
[11] Watenpaugh, The Image of an Ottoman City, 87.
[12] David, Domaines et Limites de l'architecture d'empire, 185.
[13] For more information on Hadım Ibrahim Pasha's mosque in Istanbul and Behram Pasha’s mosque in Diyarbakır see Necipoğlu, The Age of Sinan, 391-396 and 467-469.
[14] For more details see Watenpaugh, The Image of an Ottoman City, 88-89.
