^ ^ h o s e n “ M useum of the Y ear” in 1985 by the C ouncil of Europe, the Museum of Turkish and Islam ic Art has moved to the newly refurbished Ibrahim Pasha Palace. The M useum is the second oldest in T urkey and w as located form erly in one of the buildings in the com p le x of the M osque of Suleyman the Magnificent. N ow it spreads out in the building w hich looks onto the H ippodrom e in Istanbul.
The m ove and the restored building call attention to the importance of the Seraglio Point both in history and in art. Riches, spectacles, trium phs and tragedies - like an accum ulation of the dram as of the city - rub against each other here.
Political rivalries of the Byzantine Empire culm inated here in riots and bloodshed; here m agicians, acrobats and clow ns lavishly entertained a Sultan's newly circum cised son. In miniatures w hich record the event the Sultan can be seen enjoying the show from the small balcony of this Palace.
Around this square w ere the houses of the leading citizens; within eyeshot the main businesses of two Empires w ere conducted; on its borders the M osque of Sultan Ahmed (the Blue Mosque), St. Sophia, and the Palace of Topkapi stand, each in its w ay the artistic epitom e of its time. This w as the hub of the activities for hundreds of years. W hat one sees today of the Hippodrom e and the surrounding buildings gives only a hint of this bustling area.
The hint is particularly true for the Ibrahim Pasha Palace. Stately today, it
by A nna G. Edmonds
once w as the grandest private resi dence ever built in the whole Ottoman Empire. So grand it w as that the Sultans held their m ost extravagant parties in its huge cerem onial hall.
The original building is unknown; the first records of it date from the early 16th century w hen Suleyman the M agnificent paid for its restoration himself and then gave it as a wedding present to his G rand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha, who married Suleym an’s sister, H atice Sultan. The festivities on that occasion went on fifteen days and fifteen nights. The building and its extensive grounds w ere decorated in every im aginable way: rich brocades, satins, and velvets adorned the walls and tables; intricately patterned Oriental rugs lay on the floors; colorful birds, fragrant blossoms, candles in candelabra, and quaint small animals
entertained the guests as they feasted and played.
In the midst of the celebration Suleyman w as called to his own Palace to rejoice in the birth of Selim, the son who would inherit his throne forty-tw o years later. Having seen the baby and his mother, Roxelana, Suleyman returned to his brother-in- law ’s party to revel in the wrestling, the archery contests, the races, and the dancing going on there.
Ibrahim Pasha w as a brave soldier, an accom plished diplomat, and an intimate friend of Suleym an’s, but he ow ned the Palace only thirteen years. His strength and his success aroused Suleym an’s jealousy and he was killed at the height of his power. Others have lived here after him, several to suffer his sam e fate. M any of its residents have played their parts in Ottoman history. O ne of the w om en w as Sultan Ibrahim's eighth favorite, Telli Humashah Sultan, w ho set out to cover its whole 200 room s with furs. Before she squandered all of Crazy Ibrahim's wealth he w as deposed and she ended her days in the Old Palace a short distance beyond the boundaries of this property. In spite of the m any colorful personalities and long history associated with the place, the popularity of Ibrahim Pasha continues to resound in the name of the building.
In time a dormitory for young arm y conscripts, a pavillion for janissary m usical concerts, a hotel for a Polish delegation, a prison, and a land registry office, by the middle of this century the Palace w as lying ravaged by a number
The Ibrahim Pasha Palace
and the Museum of
Turkish and Islamic Arts
of sweeping fires, by earthquakes, and by the ensuing pillage. For m ore than a century few who walked around the Hippodrom e even saw it, so ram- shackled it w as and hidden behind small houses; few ever guessed at the grounds w hich extended for som e distance up Divan Yolu. Apartm ent buildings and law yers’ offices rose in its garden, a court of justice backed up against its ruins.
Then, as plans w ere being made for the celebration of the Council of Europe’s 1983 Anatolian Civilizations Exhibition, this dilapidated Ibrahim Pasha Palace was chosen as the ideal place to display the unrivaled collec tion of items from around the Empire. Under the leadership of Nurhan Atasoy, the head of the Anatolian Civilizations Exhibition, Nazan Ölçer, the director of the M useum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, and Hüsrev Taylan, the architect who directed the group of technicians from the Ministry of Culture, a part of the rooms of the 16th century Palace w ere made ready. Then began the very painstaking job of moving the thousands of pieces that had been kept in the building at Suleymaniye.
In approximate chronological order now, the artifacts are grouped to
represent the creativity of people living
here since the 9th century A.D.
Inscriptions in stone, chased bronze candlesticks, delicate tracery carved in wooden doors and shutters are here for all to study and admire.
Twelth century Selçuk griffons crouch frozen in stone; 16th century signatures of Sultans Selim II (the one born during his uncle’s wedding party) and Murad III proclaim the ornate pom p and dignity of their years; a 13th
century bronze bowl with an Inscription
in Arabic m ade of inlaid gold reflects the craftsm anship of Egyptian metal workers. On one side are 12th century bits of ceram ic tiles from Konya; on another a collection of all Baki's poem s lies open at a brilliantly illuminated page. Here is a priceless Kuran, there is an em bossed w ander ing ascetic’s brass bowl. In the Palace of Topkapi m any of the treasures of the Ottoman Period are to be seen; in this museum the treasures range over all the centuries of Turkish culture.The justly fam ous rug and carpet collection is displayed particularly well in the Palace cerem onial hall. Some of the pieces are important because of their antiquity. O ne small Selçuk fragment from the Mosque of Alaed- din in Konya dates from the 13th
century, a very early exam ple of a knotted rug. A nother early fragm ent is a 15th century anim al-figured rug. The 16th century is represented by several m am m oth rugs, som e m ore than 12 by 20 feet (m ore than 4 by 7 meters). One is an Ushak Lotto type, another an Ushak chintam ani, still another is a 17th century Iranian “garden” rug, and still another is a Selçuk m ulti-medallion type. Most of these giant pieces were woven originally for m osques and w ere protected there by being lost underneath layers and layers of newer rugs. Only in a room that boasts the scale of this one could these pieces be displayed to their advantage without the one overwhelm ing the next.
On the ground level several rooms are devoted to ethnography. Six separate displays show with m an nequins the distinctive variations in the life of wom en in different parts of the country. A yurt is furnished with the rugs and trappings necessary for a family to m ove in at once. Just behind it a w om an is busy dyeing yarns to w eave into a rug. On the wall a chart describes the different kinds of materials she m ight use to produce the natural dyes. Nearby a series of pictures shows the steps necessary for setting up the yurt.
Next is a black, nom ad tent where one wom an is carding wool, another is sewing clothes for a child and a third is making “ tulum " cheese. The placard describing the scene also gives details about the w om en’s work of setting up the tent.
In a village house typical of
Yuntdağ (near Balıkesir) a w om an is spinning wool on a small spinning wheel. A nother w om an is working a design on cloth in a 19th century Bursa house while across the w ay som eone is buying cloth in the market. In sharp contrast to the first two displays, the sixth scene is of a room in a late 19th century fashionable Istanbul home where several w om en are em broider ing silk.
In a unique effort to catch the imagination and enthusiasm of children for the cultural richness and variety of the country, the Museum has opened its doors to groups of children. Youngsters com e with their teachers to see and appreciate the exhibits w hich detail the various ways in w hich people have lived in Anatolia. The director, Nazan Ölçer, enthusiastically describes, the program and the costum es w hich are being prepared for the four to six year olds who com e regularly for classes here. Recognizing this encouragem ent of children’s art, the M useum in June of this year was awarded a silver cup by the Council of Europe's University Center of Culture in Ravello, Italy.
Naturally, som e of the items displayed are rotated occasionally and
new exhibits are prepared regularly.
Am ong the recent special topics are those on Views of Istanbul as Seen by Foreigners, Calligraphy both Classical and Modern, and Photographs taken by the French n o v e llis t, Pierre Loti.Pierre Loti, who lived where a part of the original garden property probably extended, described m uch of the 19th century life of Istanbul in his rom antic love stories. More realistically, in his m em oirs he reports a procession in w hich he saw the Sultan:
“Cavalrymen, dressed in uniforms m ade of cloth of gold and with very tall feathers in their headgear rode along opening up the road for the Sultan to pass. In the middle of the cavalry Sultan Abdul Hamid m oved forward on a high horse bedecked in gold and jewelry. The Grand Mufti, in afull green cloak, the pashas on horses sparkling with gold threads, the religious leaders and statesmen all paraded past in a seem ingly unending spectacle.”
While the rom antic panoply of the Ottoman Empire is only a memory, some of the wealth of those years and their grandeur is adm irably displayed in the Ibrahim Pasha Museum. Thus again this building is being used for people eager to enjoy Turkish and Islamic A rts.D
Kişisel Arşivlerde İstanbul Belleği Taha Toros Arşivi
