Announcements   Projects   Media   NSMH   Contact   TR

A MOSQUE IN GAZİOSMANPAŞA
Gaziosmanpaşa/İstanbul ︎ 1994 ︎ Construction Area: 330 m2 ︎ Site: 1.500 m2 ︎ Religious ︎ Nevzat Sayın, Tülay Atabey

It is very difficult to deal with a situation that has been predetermined by a higher authority. Moreover, if you do not personally have a ‘deep’ affinity with the subject, the ‘project’ becomes even more challenging. The mosque was such a subject for me. The spiritual connections of my childhood had gradually diminished and disappeared as I grew older. Nevertheless, I always had questions about mosque spaces that I found impressive. These questions arose especially when I was trying to understand how Turgut Cansever's statements on Islam were interpreted in the space.
        The claim that ‘the mihrab wall was “privatised"' was not entirely convincing but provocative. The mihrab wall is the most important wall, and its significance is clearly conveyed through its architectural features and ornaments. Could "the most important" be obliterated and then reconstituted through its absence? This was the first question, and everything was determined accordingly. The mihrab wall was pushed back from its usual place and extended to form the mihrab wall of both the mosque and the outdoor prayer area, the namazgah. Two worship spaces, one enclosed and one open, were placed in front of and oriented towards this wall.
        In addition to the indoor space, which could accommodate a hundred people, the outer prayer hall, namazgah, twice as large, provided the necessary space for Friday prayers in good weather. It also created a ceremonial effect along the path from the garden entrance by the road to the mosque entrance. Despite the "absence" of essential elements such as the minaret, dome, mihrab, pulpit, and minbar, there was still a mosque—in the conventional sense.