Sinan, A Divine Architect
Turkey Now! 2008 FILM
Documentary by the Dutch filmmaker Remmelt Lukkien about the 16th-century architect Sinan; one of the most important personalities of classical Turkish culture and the most renowned architect of Islamic history.
Dutch subtitles.
Sinan is often referred to as the ‘Turkish Michelangelo'. As chief architect for fifty years he supervised everything that was built in the immense Ottoman Empire and as such had an indelible impact on Turkish culture.Sinan (1489-1588) is one of the most important personalities of Turkish culture and the most renowned architect in Islamic history. Sinan was born a Christian but was recruited at a young age by the Janissary corps, necessitating his conversion to Islam. It was there that he developed the talents that lead to his appointment as chief architect of the Ottoman Empire. Sinan accepted this role because of his desire to build mosques. These were Ottoman dome mosques. Sinan elevated the construction of domes to an absolute peak, with the most renowned examples being the Süleymaniye mosque in Istanbul and the Selimiye mosque in Edirne.
The documentary 'Sinan - A Divine Architect' paints a portrait of this important master builder who left an indelible mark on the architecture of the Golden Era of the Ottoman Empire. Although Sinan has hundreds of buildings to his name, the film concentrates on his three majestic mosques with their heavenly domes.
The film is based, among other sources, on the unique autobiography Sinan left behind, which contains a list of his creations and descriptions of his experiences. This book reveals that Sinan harboured a passionate desire: in Islam’s name he wanted to surpass the immense, Christian-built, domed Hagia Sophia basilica (which had been rebuilt into a mosque after the Turkish conquest). This desire grew after Sinan heard that Christian architects dismissed Muslim architects as inferior to the challenge of creating a building equal to the Hagia Sophia. With the wealth that came with the conquest of the island of Cyprus, Sultan Selim II awarded Sinan the opportunity to build the Selimiye mosque, which surpassed the Hagia Sophia in design and construction if not in size.
The documentary ‘Sinan - A Divine Architect’ premiered during the 2008 Turkey Now! festival, in the KIT Tropentheater in Amsterdam.
