Episode 14: Valide Turhan Sultan
Turhan Sultan was a patron of architecture during the Ottoman Empire. She was born in 1627 in what is known today as Southwestern Russia. As Haseki Sultan (wife) of Sultan Ibrahim I she gave birth to the Sultan’s first son and heir Mehmed IV. After a power struggle with her mother in law, she became Valide Sultan (mother of the Sultan) in 1651. The Ottoman Empire had beef with the Venetians, so in 1658 Turhan Sultan commissioned two fortresses at the entrance of the Dardanelles, one on the European side called Seddülbahir and one on the Asian side called Kumkale, which are still standing today. Both of these fortresses had a mosque, madrasas, hammams, and bazaars. Two years later she revived the Yeni Complex project begun by a previous Valide Sultan. The complex was made up of a mosque, a madrasa, sebilis, a bazaar known today as the Spice Bazaar, and a large tomb. The project was completed in the 1670 and is the final resting place of Turhan Sultan who passed away on August 4, 1683.
Caryatid: Sherry Larjani
Sherry Larjani is President and Managing Partner at Spotlight Development Inc, in Toronto, Canada. She began her career as a junior architectural designer and eventually made the move to real estate development with Spotlight Development. Sherry is involved in a housing project with Canada’s first all-women real estate development. Everyone involved from the developers, architects, engineers, landscape architects, to the project managers are women.
References
“Kosem: La Sultana Capitulo 115.” YouTube, uploaded by Kosem: La Sultana, 2 Jan. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXRIH2NxEK4.
Özgüles, Muzaffer. The Women Who Built the Ottoman World: Female Patronage and the Architectural Legacy of Gulnus Sultan (Library of Ottoman Studies). 1st ed., I.B. Tauris, 2017.
Sumertas, Firuzan. “Female Patronage in Classical Ottoman Architecture: Five Case Studies in Istanbul.” M.A, Middle East Technical University, 2006.
Wikipedia contributors. “Sultanate of Women.” Wikipedia, 17 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultanate_of_Women.
—. “Tomb of Turhan Sultan.” Wikipedia, 23 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Turhan_Sultan.
—.“Turhan Sultan.” Wikipedia, 20 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turhan_Sultan.
Images (in order)
de Jode, Pietro. Portrait of Emina Sultan. Digital Image. Wikipedia. 2016. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emina_Sultan.jpeg 30 Oct 2020.
Thys-Senocak, Lucienne. The remaining mihrab from Kumkale mosque (2000). Digital Image. Max Van Berchem. Fondation Max Van Berchem. 2001. https://maxvanberchem.org/en/scientific-activities/projects/architecture/14-architecture/133-the-architectural-survey-of-the-ottoman-fortresses-of-seddulbahir-and-kumkale 30 Oct 2020.
Thys-Senocak, Lucienne. Lower section of Seddülbahir fortress. Digital Image. Max Van Berchem. Fondation Max Van Berchem. https://maxvanberchem.org/en/scientific-activities/projects/architecture/14-architecture/133-the-architectural-survey-of-the-ottoman-fortresses-of-seddulbahir-and-kumkale 2001. 30 Oct 2020.
Piperno, Roberto. Eastern side of the fortress. Digital Image. Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller. Rome Art Traveler. Feb 2017. https://www.romeartlover.it/Bosforo5.html 30 Oct 2020.
Dilmen, Nevit. The New Mosque (Yeni Cami) in Eminönü, Istanbul. Digital Image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 1 Jan 2012. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mosque,_Istanbul 30 Oct 2020.
Metuboy. The yard of Yeni Cami (New Mosque). Digital Image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 25 Dec 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mosque,_Istanbul 30 Oct 2020.
Muscol. Interior of Yeni Cami (New Mosque). Digital Image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 11 Jul 2008. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mosque,_Istanbul 30 Oct 2020.
CeeGee. Entrance to the Tomb of Turhan Sultan. Digital Image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 16 Jul 2019. https://www.gotourturkey.com/2014/12/the-spice-bazaar-istanbul/ 30 Oct 2020.
Brinley, Andrew. The Spice Bazaar – Istanbul. Digital Image. Dos Plumas Travel. 30 Dec 2014
Stewart, Riley. The team building Reina Condos. Digital Image. The Star. 5 Jun 2019. https://www.thestar.com/life/homes/2019/06/05/canadas-first-all-woman-dream-team-makes-plans-for-the-site-of-an-etobicoke-strip-club.html
