Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
coral, Gedi, Kenya, Kilwa, Lamu,
minaret, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Zanzibar
Further reading:
J. de V.Allen and T.H.Wilson, 
Swahili Houses and Tombs
of the Coast of Kenya,
Art and Archaeology Research
Papers, London 1979.
P.Garlake, 
The Early Islamic Architecture of the East
African Coast,
Memoir no.1 of the British Institute of
History and Archaeology in Eastern Africa, Oxford
1966.
M.C.Horton, ‘Early Muslim trading settlements on the
East African coast: new evidence from Shanga’,
Antiquaries Journal
67: 290–323, 1987.
H.C.Sanservino, ‘Archaeological remains on the
southern Somali coast’, 
Azania
18: 151–64, 1983.
P.Sinclair, ‘Chibuene: an early trading site in southern
Mozambique’, 
Paideuma
28: 148–64.
Edirne (Byzantine: Adrianople)
Major Ottoman city in European Turkey on the main route
between the Middle East and Europe.
Edirne was captured in 1362 and rapidly rose to
replace Bursa as the Ottoman capital in 1366. During
the fifteenth century the city was developed as a major
Turkish city with caravanserais, khans and mosques
and a royal palace. The capture of Constantinople
(later Istanbul) in 1453 meant that Edirne was no
longer the capital, although it continued to be one of
the first cities of the empire and a country residence
for the Ottoman sultans until the nineteenth century.
Unfortunately the royal palace which was located on
the banks of the Tunca river has disappeared, but
photographs and plans show an ancient building
considerably altered by nineteenth-century additions
Üç( Serefeli Cami, Edirne, Turkey (after Goodwin)
Edirne (Byzantine: Adrianople)

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when it again was used as a residence of the sultans.
The best-pre-served part of the palace seems to have
been the kitchens which provided a model for those
of the Topkapisarai.
The oldest surviving mosque in Edirne is known
as the Yildirim Cami which is built on the ruins of
a church. The date of construction is debated but is
believed to be between 1360 and 1390. Other early
mosques include the Muradiye Tekke and Mosque
built in 1421 which includes both green tiles of the
Yesil Cami (Bursa) type and blue and white Chinese
style tiles. Unfortunately the building was heavily
damaged in an earthquake of 1751 and much of the
original appearance of the mosque has been lost in
the eighteenth-century restoration. The largest early
mosque at Edirne is the Eski Cami completed
during the reign of Mehmet I in 1413. This is a nine-
domed building with a portico of five bays on the
north side and a minaret at the north-west corner
(the second minaret was added twenty years later).
The six side domes are hemispherical whilst the
central domes on the line of the mihrab are a variety
of shapes (polygonal, octagonal and star-shaped
vaults).
Of a similar period but very different style is
the Üç Serefeli Cami begun in 1437. Where the
Eski Cami was the last great Ottoman mosque to
be built in the multi-domed fashion the Üc
Serefeli was the first of the new type of imperial
mosque. It consists of a rectangular courtyard and
smaller rectangular prayer area covered by one
large dome and four subsidiary domes (two either
side). The main dome rests on a hexagonal drum
supported by two large octagonal piers. This was
a revolutionary design when mosques were either
a collection of single-domed units or a large area
covered by multiple domes of equal size like the
Eski Cami. The Üç Serefeli was also unique for
its time because of its four minarets decorated in
a variety of patterns; they were placed at the
corners of the courtyard and arranged so that the
two smallest were at the front and the tallest
minarets were at the back. The tallest minaret is
in the north-west corner and is distinguished by
Selimiye Complex, Edirne, Turkey (after Goodwin)
Edirne (Byzantine: Adrianople)

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its three balconies which give the building its
name.
In 1484 Beyazit ordered the construction of a
major new mosque and hospital by the side of the
Tunca river. The complex covers a large area
(approx. 300 by 200 m) and includes the mosque, a
hospital, sanatorium and medical school. There is
a stone bridge next to the complex which was
probably built at the same time. The mosque at the
centre of the complex consists of a single-domed
unit, flanked by two tabhanes (dervish hostels) and
approached via a rectangular arcaded courtyard.
The most significant architectural feature of the
complex is the hexagonal hospital hall which
encloses a central domed hexagonal court leading
off to vaulted iwans.
Edirne’s continued importance during the
sixteenth century is proved by Selim II’s choice of
the city for his imperial mosque the Selimiye, whose
central dome was the largest Ottoman dome and was
equal to that of Hagia Sophia with a diameter of 32
m. The mosque forms part of a complex which
includes a covered market, a madrassa and primary
school. Like the Üç Serefeli Mosque the Selimiye has
four minarets although here one is placed at each
corner of the domed prayer hall rather than the
courtyard.