A forgotten work of Mimar Sinan: Kılıç Ali Pasha Madrasa

Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex is located in the center of Istanbul's Tophane district. Tophane district has a special position in Istanbul: It is a region that separates Galata and Beyoğlu. Another feature that shows this is the part of the city wall, which is located right across the complex and has survived to the present day. In the south of the complex, there is the harbor and the streets and places where the places complementary to the harbor are located. The north of the complex draws a different view. The part reserved by Boğazkesen is now the place where Beyoğlu's important places greet people. The region, which started to disappear to a large extent during the construction works implemented in the region in 1955, gains value day by day. Kılıç Ali Pasha Mosque, which is the most important structure of the complex, is one of the most important works of Mimar Sinan and is often compared with Hagia Sophia in terms of plan layout. Reconstruction practices in the mosque in the 1950s caused the formerly wider courtyard to become smaller. The courtyards of Ottoman mosques, especially those built by Mimar Sinan, are living centers. They are the place where people chat in their spare time and after the prayer, and also where musahafa and beautiful speeches are made. Many monumental works in the region where the Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex is located make the residents who pass by them feel the deep-rooted history of the region. In addition, the region appears as an important area where the most important commercial and financial institutions of Istanbul are located. The density here provides a frequent human circulation potential to the region, especially during working days. People from all walks of life, performing even simple acts such as eating in the commercial areas at this place during lunch breaks or after work, keeps Kılıç Ali Pasha alive. There is a mosque, hamam (Turkish bath), tomb, and madrasa in the Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex. The mosque and hamam continue to have their original functions. The madrasa actually lost its original function with the 'Tevhid-i Tedrisat Law' enacted in 1924. It continued to exist for a while as dysfunctional and from time to time its structure was adversely affected by inappropriate and mindless applications. Incorrect poorly implemented repairs also caused some damage to the madrasah. The survival of historical buildings as buildings is only possible to the extent that they are integrated into daily life. If the original function of the building, that is, the function that was aimed when it was first built, has ended for any reason later, it is very important to be careful when it comes to giving it a new and suitable function. It should be given a function that is close to its intended role when the building was first built. For example, the madrasa can be used as a library later. Although the madrasa is the work of Mimar Sinan, it is remarkable that it is not included in the biographies describing his works. Some historians claim that Sinan designed this madrasa, but its construction was only completed after his death in 1588. The square-planned madrasa consists of seventeen cells covered with eighteen domes, one of which is at the entrance, around the courtyard with a portico. In the middle, there is a large domed classroom. The hamam and the madrasa were built in a mixed technique using bricks and stone masonry in order for them to be cost-effective. The madrasa, which was used as a dispensary for many years by being transferred to the Child Protection Agency, underwent major changes within this time frame. In 1995, the building was evacuated, but the changes made inside were left as they were. While there was a library in the madrasa, the books were transferred to the Süleymaniye Library in 1918. The library established in a room of the Kılıç Ali Pasha Madrasa shows some features that are not found in other libraries. During the establishment of the madrasa, over 500 tafsir books donated by Debbağzade İbrahim Efendi were kept in a special place. In this way, the teaching personality of Debbağzade İbrahim Efendi is reflected in the library collection in a way that cannot be overlooked. İbrahim Efendi appointed four hafizes for the library, demanding that these four to be members of his own family and that, if this is not possible, competent people from Tophane should be appointed to this task. These four hafizes are given the task of counting the books periodically. A librarian who oversees this counting was also assigned to the madrasa. As stated in the foundation charter of Kılıç Ali Pasha Library, and as is common in Ottoman libraries, books were not loaned out to ensure their preservation and continuity. The tradition of 'worship in the library', which we can hardly see in 16th-century libraries, was also practiced in the Kılıç Ali Pasha Library. Among the duties of the hafizes in the madrasa were praying and reading the Qur'an every morning when the library was opened. The library, which contains over a thousand works, had been offered to the service of the readers in a room of the Kılıç Ali Pasha Madrasa for a long time. During World War I, like many other libraries, it was transferred to the Sultan Selim Library (1914) and then to the Süleymaniye Library (1918) and kept there. After the latest restoration of the madrasa, the library continues to be used as a library in accordance with its original form.