Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa (1553 - 1625) is recorded as the Ottoman architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the "Blue Mosque") in Istanbul. Mehmet went to Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1567 and began the study of music but later switched to architecture. He became a pupil of architect Sinan, Turkey's most celebrated architect^[1]. In 1606 Mehmet Ağa was named royal architect to the Ottoman court.

From 1609 until 1616 he worked on the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, called the Blue Mosque because of the colour of its tile work. The design of the mosque was based on the Hagia Sophia (Church of Holy Wisdom), the masterpiece of Byzantine architecture built in the 6th century, and on the work of his master, Sinan. The design of the mosque is perfectly symmetrical, with a great centre dome buttressed by four semidomes and surrounded by a number of smaller domes.

Mehmet Ağa had a book on architecture theory written for him by Cafer Efendi. In it he explained the methods of work and the architectural training of the period.

Mehmet Ağa died in 1625 at the age of 72. By way of his works he left a decided mark on Istanbul. The square on which the Sultanahmet Mosque is situated became known as Sultanahmet. Mehmet Ağa, who was the last student of Sinan, had completed his mission by adding his brighter, colorful architectural style to that of his master teacher.