The Complex of Sultan Bayezid II () is a ''

külliye A külliye () is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf (charitable foundation) and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa (clinic), kitchens ...

'' located in

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It was built in 1488 by the Ottoman architect Mimar Hayruddin for the Sultan

Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...

(reigned 1481–1512). The complex contains a Dar al-Shifa (Turkish ''darüşşifa'', "hospital, medical center"), and it remained in operation for four centuries from 1488 until the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

. The hospital was especially notable for its treatment methods for

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

s, which included the use of music, water sound and scents. The historic darüşşifa was incorporated into the structure of Edirne-based

Trakya University Trakya University () is a public university in Edirne, Turkey. It was established on July 20, 1982. The university is located in Edirne, in Eastern Thrace. Trakya University is a regional university with branches and campuses spread over the T ...

in 1993, and converted into the Complex of Sultan Bayezid II Health Museum in 1997, a museum dedicated to the

history of medicine The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies. The history of med ...

and health matters in general. The complex was inscribed in the Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey in 2016.

Mosque

Within the complex, the mosque holds a central position. The inner sanctum does not have arches nor columns and the ground is lined with a variety of Turkish rugs sometimes also called Anatolian rugs. It has the dimensions 20.58x20.60 meters making it square in shape.Akıncı, H. (2018). Architectural Design of the Complex of Sultan Bayezid II - Health Museum. UNIMUSEUM, 1(1), 28-34. The mosques' dome has a height of 19.34 meters. The pulpit or

minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...

was created with stonemasonry craftsmanship. Its has two

minarets A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

each having a single-balcony and 149 stairs leading up. Both sit at a height of 38.50 meters. Within the mosque, the array of arched windows that surround the

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

would have let light fall on the faces of worshippers.

Hospital (Dârüşşifâ)

The darussifa stands on just right side of the mosque consisting of three different sections. The first courtyard holds six outpatient rooms, service rooms such as a kitchen, a laundry, and pharmacy. In the second courtyard, senior staff carried out their duties in four rooms. The şifa-hane (cure-house) is an inpatient section that holds 10 rooms in total, six of which are for the winter season and the remaining four for summer- this section also had a music stage. The utilization of music and the sounds of water from the fountain were intended to serve as therapeutic aids for mentally ill patients.

Medical school

The health institution was a

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

(). It ranked among the best 60 schools (

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

) in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

due to its high-paid scholar. The medical school consisted of 18 student rooms and a classroom surrounding three sides of a courtyard with a shadirvan (fountain) in the middle. The first teacher of the school is said to have been Sheikh Lütfullahzade Bahaüddin. Famous Ottoman travel writer

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

(1611–after 1682) mentions in his book that the students of the medical school were mature physicians, who studied and discussed works of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

philosophers, scientists and physicians such as

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

(428/427 or 424/423–348/347 BC),

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

(470/469–399 BC),

Philip of Opus Philip (or Philippus) of Opus () was a philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. He was a member of Plato's Academy and after the master's death, edited his last work, ''Laws''. He is generally considered the author of the Platonic '' Epinomis'' ...

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

(384–322 BC),

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...

(AD 129– c. 200/c. 216) and

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...

(c. 570 – c. 495 BC). The physicians, each being a specialist in a different field, tried to find out the best treatment by studying valuable scientific literature on medicine. The books of the medical school are archived in the hand-written books library of Selimiye Mosque today. According to Evliya Çelebi, following daily wages were paid to the staff and students: * Scholar (1): 60

akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. It was also used in other states includi ...

(silver coin) including holidays, * Assistant (1): 7 akçe * Library clerk (1): 2 akçe * Servants (2): 2 akçe * Students (18): 2 akçe. in addition to meeting of all their needs.

Other Sections of the Complex

Hamam (Turkish Bath)

Today, the structure has fallen into disrepair, with its original foundations obscured. Historical photographs indicate its proximity to the bridge base within the complex. Architecturally, it exhibits characteristics of a double bath design where revenue generated from the

hamam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the Islamic culture, culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

contributed to the complex's overall maintenance.

Imaret (Soup Kitchen)

Part of the complex was utilized as a soup kitchen or imaret where meals were offered twice a day This one in particular is also called “New Imaret (Turkish: Yeni İmaret)” because of being the last of 8 imarets in Edirne. All staff of the complex and the poor ate here free of charge.

Gallery

File:Beyazit II Mosque 1123.jpg, Interior of mosque from balcony File:Beyazit II Mosque 3048.jpg, Courtyard of the mosque File:Medical museum 6217.jpg, A courtyard in the museum area

References

External links

Pictures of the mosque complex
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayezid II Kulliye Buildings and structures completed in 1488 Buildings and structures in Edirne Defunct hospitals Ottoman architecture in Edirne 1877 disestablishments Ottoman hospitals Medical and health organizations based in Turkey Mimar Hayruddin buildings Bimaristans Hospitals established in the 15th century