Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City Read Online Free PDF Page B

south façades of the building have two storeys of porticoed galleries which, with the pyramidal arrangement of the domes, give a light and harmonious effect. The two minarets each have three ş erefes, or balconies, with superb stalactite carving. In olden times the call to prayer was given by six müezzins, one to each ş erefe, but now they have been replaced by a single loudspeaker attached to a soulless tape-recorder.
    Like all of the other imperial mosques in Stamboul, Yeni Cami is preceded by a monumental courtyard, or avlu. The courtyard is bordered by a peristyle of 20 columns, forming a portico which is covered with 24 small domes. At the centre of the courtyard there is a charming octagonal ş ad ı rvan, or ablution fountain, one of the finest of its kind in the city. At the ş ad ı rvan, which means literally “free-flowing fountain”, the faithful would ordinarily perform their abdest, or ritual ablutions, before entering the mosque to pray. But in Yeni Cami the ş ad ı rvan serves merely a decorative purpose, and the ritual washings are performed at water-taps along the south wall of the mosque.

     
    The stone dais on that side of the courtyard which borders the mosque is called the son cemaat yeri, literally the place of last assembly. Latecomers to the Friday noon service when the mosque is full often perform their prayers on this porch, usually in front of one of the two niches which are set to either side of the door. The façade of the building under the porch is decorated with tiles and faience inscriptions forming a frieze. The two central columns of the portico, which frame the entrance to the mosque, are of a most unusual and beautiful marble not seen elsewhere in the city.
    The interior of Yeni Cami is somewhat disappointing, partly because the mosque is darkened by the soot which has accumulated on its windows. What is more, the tiles which decorate the interior are of a quality inferior to those in earlier mosques, the celebrated Iznik tiles of the period 1555–1620. Nevertheless, the interior furnishings of the mosque are quite elegant in detail. The most important part of the interior of Yeni Cami, as in all mosques, is the mihrab, a niche set into the centre of the wall opposite the main entrance. The purpose of the mihrab is to indicate the k ı ble, the direction of Mecca, towards which the faithful must face when they perform their prayers. (In Istanbul the direction of the k ı ble is approximately south-east, but for convenience we will refer to it as east, the general orientation of the Christian churches of the city.) In the great mosques of Istanbul the mihrab is invariably quite grand, with the niche itself made of finely carved and sculptured marble and with the adjacent wall sheathed in ceramic tiles. The mihrab in Yeni Cami is ornamented with gilded stalactites and flanked with two enormous golden candles, which are lighted on the holy nights of the Islamic year. To the right of the mihrab we see the mimber, or pulpit, which is surmounted by a tall, conical-topped canopy carried on marble columns. At the time of the noon prayer on Friday the imam, or preacher, mounts the steps of the mimber and pronounces the weekly sermon, or hutbe. To the left of the mihrab, standing against the main pier on that side, we see the kürsü, where the imam sits when he is reading the Kuran to the congregation. And to the right of the main entrance, set up against the main pier at that end, we find the müezzin mahfili, a covered marble pew. During the Friday services and other ceremonial occasions the müezzin kneels there, accompanied perhaps by a few other singers, and chants the responses to the prayers of the imam. During these formal occasions of worship, the faithful kneel in long lines and columns throughout the mosque, following the prayers attentively and responding with frequent and emphatic amens. The women, who take no part in the public prayers, are relegated to the open chambers