GEBZE ÇOBAN MUSTAFA PAŞA CAMİSİ: SORULAR VE GÖZLEMLER

The concern of this paper is to contribute to the double controversy confronting researchers when approaching the complex of Çoban Mustafa Paşa; the first being the problem of its attribution to an architect and secondly, the degree to which the marble work is of late Mamluk origin. The architecture, material and structural decoration of the Çoban Mustafa Paşa mosque found at Gebze can be considered a traditional monument of the early 16th century in Anatolia. It's structural decorations such as the portal, minbar and mihrab, all follow a relatively common theme, which can be considered a continuation of the Ottoman decorative tradition. The mosque also shows in its structural material and plan type; the domed square construction, close relation to the manner followed by the Ottoman master builders and later by Architect Sinan, in the use of stone and alternative stone and brick walls. The applied decoration, on the other hand is unique to Ottoman Turkey. Hardly any other example can be seen in Anatolia, comparable in their amounts of polychrome marble, nor in their decorative patterns, to those at the mosque of Çoban Mustafa Paşa. The wall lining of the mosque in marble, is not found elsewhere in the complex. It therefore has no logical chronology with Anatolian decorative tradition, and leads the researcher to look elsewhere for comparative materials. There is controversy among scholars on the problem of whether to attribute the mosque of Çoban Mustafa Paşa to Esir Ali or to Mimar Sinan. This problem rises from the fact that the mosque is dated to 929 H., or 1523 AD. during the period when Esir Ali was the head of the imperial architects of the Ottoman Empire. Esir Ali or Acem Ali, supposedly built many buildings, among which are the Mosque of Sultan Selim of 1523, the Süleymaniye Mosque in Çorlu, the Selimiye Mosque in Konya, and the Mosque of Kasım Paşa in Bozhöyük (Mayer, 1956,50). None of these mosques though confirm this attribution, but it is taken for granted, as he was responsible for the major projects under the Ottoman construction system. On the other hand, historical accounts, some written during the life time of architect Sinan, confirm the attribution of the Çoban Mustafa Paşa Mosque and complex to Mimar Sinan. The mosque appears in Tezkiret-ül Bünyan inscribed by Sai Mustafa Çelebi, and is entitled 'Mısırlı' or of Egyptian origin (Sönmez, 1988, 31-37). In Tezkiret-ül Ebniye, and in Tuhfet-ül Mimarin, the complex was attributed to Mimar Sinan (Sönmez, 1988,67). The Risalet-ülMimariye, though, only attributes Gebze's Hamam to Architect Sinan (Sönmez, 1988,88,160). The founder and patron of the complex is Çoban Mustafa Paşa a military Serasker, or Commander in Chief, who served under Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. He was sent to Cairo in 1522, as the viceroy of Egypt. Çoban Mustafa Paşa stayed in Cairo for six months and eighteen days. When he returned to Istanbul, he resigned and settled at Gebze. He died in 1529, and was buried in his unfinished Türbe (Eklem, 1935,57). Çoban Mustafa Paşa joined Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent in his expedition to Rhodes. And at that period, Mimar Sinan was a young but important and distinguished military engineer, taking part in this expedition. In the accounts of Evliya Çelebi Çoban Paşa had offered Mimar Sinan to construct a mosque for him at Gebze, but as this offer had been probably rejected, Çelebi Continues and attributes the mosque to Mimar Sinan's 'master assistant' (Has Halifesi) Husam Kalfa (Çelebi, 1970,166-169). This Rhodes expedition, in 1522, would have been a perfect period for the Paşa to meet with Mimar Sinan, discuss the erection of his complex, and later during the same year he was transferred to Egypt. Mimar Sinan would have been still very young in 1520's to be able to execute such a massive complex. Furthermore, it would have been impossible for him, just to design it without staying behind and supervising it, at the time of expeditions with Sultan Süleyman. But then why do the chronicles and his accounts attribute the complex to him? Evliya Çelebi, mentions in his accounts that Mimar Sinan was responsible for specific parts of the complex, which suggests that the complex itself was built by two different architects; Kalfa and Sinan, in two different stages or periods. The first is probably the Mosque, and the surrounding walls and main entrance, as well as the neighboring bath, while the second stage is the construction work Mimar Sinan supervised, which includes the caravansaray, türbe, medrese, hans and their masterly arrangement (Figures 1-2). In 1533 AD. (940 H.), Matrakçı Nasuh visited Gebze and drew the building in his chronicles, where he describes the stages of Sultan Süleyman's campaign, as a single domed mosque with walls surrounding its sides and an entrance facing the mosque (Figure 3).Nootherbuildingappears in thesurroundingwaIl,suggestingthathe passed through when the first stage of the construction was completed (Yurdaydin, 1974). Furthermore, the Türbe which is located right behind the mosque, was never completed. It is stated that Çoban Mustafa Paşa was buried there in 1529 AD., but it was not yet finished, as it appears today, with places left for the inscription panels and with exterior decorations uncompleted. In theinterior wall liningof the Türbe, tiles were used which, according to Atıl (1973), were used earlier in the Türbes of Şehzade Mustafa and Şehzade Mahmud (d. 1507) in Bursa, and the same style of decorations can be seen at the Yeni Valide Mosque in Manisa (1522-3) (Atıl, 1973). It is also dated by the ceramic ewers to be from the 1510-up to 1529 (Atıl, 1973). Therefore, the construction did stop, eitherin the middleofthework.orbythedeathofCobanMustafa Paşa. Thisimerruption of work does not have a relation with the departure of the Egyptian craftsmen back to Egypt, as they had already left during an earlier period, and as the Türbe has no polychromed marble, and is of a typical Ottoman style. The second stage, which includes the enlargement of the complex with the addition of a medrese and the elaborate arrangement of the rest of the complex, as indicated by Çelebi and confirmed from the Risale, is the work of Mimar Sinan, from the earliest years of his occupation as chief architect of the court. This period of construction is therefore suggested to have been between 1538-40 A.D. In 1522 AD., the construction of the first stage, including the mosque, tookplace. During the same year Ibn Ilyas mentions that 'as soon as Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent took power, he ordered all the Egyptian captives to return to Cairo', which they did in several groups within this year as indicated (Ibn Ilyas, 1893). It is during this year but at a later stage, that Çoban Mustafa Paşa was sent to Cairo, as the Viceroy for six months, during which he transferred the marble materials for his mosque. This transportation of materials has been noted by Evliya Çelebi, to have reached the Danca port of Gebze, then moved to the construction site. Therefore, neither these materials were those brought over by Sultan Selim, nor did the Egyptian captives help in their application. Since these captives left for Cairo prior to the period of Çoban Mustafa Paşa's appointment as Viceroy in Cairo, the construction of the complex was just starting.