ANKARA’DA 14. VE 15. YÜZYIL CAMİLERİNİN SÜRDÜRÜLEBİLİR KORUNMA SORUNLARI: AHİ ELVAN CAMİSİ, ÖRTMELİ, SABUNî VE POYRACI MESCİTLERİ

This paper provides a summary of a dissertation recently completed by the author and its salient findings (1). Mosques and mesjids, or small neighborhood mosques (2) built in Ankara between the 12th and 15th centuries are virtually the only buildings remaining from the Seljuq, Ahi and early Ottoman periods. Aside from hans, or commercial buildings, hamams and türbes, or mausolea, these structures, distributed throughout the urban topography, represent examples of buildings from the periods in which they were built. As may be noted in historiographic accounts of early Ottoman period such as Atsız (1992) and Neşri (1995), written documents concerning Ankara are surprisingly few, mentioning the city merely as a garrison seized or lost in well known battles. According to Aktüre (1987), a certain amount of documentary evidence from these early periods exist in vaqf, or foundation records which refer to this area under individual settlement names. Otherwise, the inscription panels of historic religious structures (i.e., mosques, or Camisi (3), mesjids and türbes) provide the only written information available on their dates of construction, patrons and builders. According to both Aktüre (1987) and Bakırer (1992), a total of twenty-five historic mosques and mesjids still exist, both within and in neighborhoods around Ankara’s Citadel. Few maps of Ankara provide the names and locations of such historic mosques and mesjids, türbes, as well as hans and hamams in Ulus, now the historic district of Ankara. A map sketched by Akçura (n.d.) and a more recent, digitized map (4) provide the locations of all historic mosques and mesjids in Ulus with their dates which show their distribution within the Ankara Citadel and throughout Ulus (Figure 1). As Bakırer (1992) rightly indicates, historic religious buildings present at the Ankara Citadel and its surroundings, although not as well known as contemporaneous examples in other cities, shed light on the historical and physical development of the city and form a collection of building types which share distinct architectural qualities (5). Earlier examples of such mosques and mesjids not only reflect the transition of Ankara from a primarily Byzantine garrison to a Turkish commercial and military establishment, but also bear material evidence of their times. While some of these historic buildings may be dated based on their inscriptions panels, others may be grouped by period based on their architectural, structural and decorative characteristics. Öney (1971) studied these historic buildings as a whole, defining and evaluating their architectural characteristics based on the following classification (6): • Mosques and mesjids from the Seljuq period, • 14th and 15th century mud brick mosques and mesjids with flat timber roofs, • 15th century stone and brick mosques and mesjids, • 16th century stone and brick mosques and mesjids, • 17th and 18th century mud brick, stone and brick mosques and mesjids, • 19th and early 20th century mud brick and stone mosques and mesjids. These six groups, examined with respect to their dates of construction, architectural and structural characteristics and distribution in Ulus, suggest that after the Turks took over the administation of Ankara, neighborhoods spread in concentric circles from the Citadel to the surrounding plain (7). Öney (1971) cites that only nine of these, one Friday mosque, or cami and eight mesjids, still remain in their original form. These buildings, though for the most part of modest scale, not only represent a traditional form of religious architecture introduced to Anatolia during the Medieval period, but also shed light on inteventions performed on such structures since the 1920s, whether it be to ensure their continued use or otherwise. All nine of these historic structures, registered as historic monuments, formed the core of historic neighborhoods in the Ulus district, once the center of Ankara. However, it is not just on such historical significance that their intrinsic values rest. Built mostly with timber framing, stone and mud brick, perhaps to an even greater extent it is the architectural and artistic practices of their era they embody that render them worthwhile subjects of study, especially if the absence of any recent reports or studies on their present condition is taken into account. Given that one of the most important factors affecting the physical state of historic structures is their macro- and micro-climatic environments, it merely follows that such structures will deteriorate when exposed to adverse conditions of this environment for any length of time, while due upkeep of roofs and water drainage systems, coupled with the occasional application of new rendering can, to a certain extent, alleviate those of the macro-climate on the exterior, adverse effects of the micro-climate on the interior are more difficult to detect. What may ordinarily be considered as regular maintenance activities, such as the application of new rendering and/or coatings, for the most part carried out merely to improve interior appearance or the installation of heating and/or ventilation systems for the comfort of their users, may also compromise the physical integrity of the structure itself. These aside, even existing and, over time, changing micro-climatic conditions may themselves lead to a variety of problematic situations within the structure such as condensation, chemical degradation through exposure to pollutive substances, decay in/of timber elements, etc. Delay in the due assessment of such conditions may indeed lead to the total loss of their physical integrity. Ergo, this investigation, through an up-to-date assessment in these respects, aims to shed light on how these structures can be better and more effectively conserved for their continuous use, if not for mere display as part of our cultural heritage. From the nine structures, one mosque and eight mesjids, identified by Öney (1971) as still standing with their original form preserved, all dating to the 14th and 15th centuries, four structures were selected for this study to represent a roughly 45% sample. The selection itself was necessarily purposive rather than random in order to cover as broad a range as possible regarding not only size and location, but also the degree to which their original architectural elements and decorative features have been preserved. Historic religious structures of this time period were chosen as the focus of this study due primariy to the existence of the highest number of structures remaining in Ankara from this period. These religious structures, preserved remarkably intact, though less well known than the more monumental ones, such as Arslanhane Camisi, may be considered equally worthwhile subjects of study.