This is also a large mosque, built by Kostantín for the benefit of the soul of the Lord Yahyá (St. John), and called, in the time of the Nasárá (Christians) Menastir Sanjovaniyyeh (Monastero San Giovanni). The holy body of that Saint is now at Malta, which is, therefore, called Sanjovanniyyeh (i.e. Malta di San Giovanni). It was carried away by the Maltese infidels from a convent in the village of Beït Sabástiyyeh (Σεβαστὴ), near Kudsi Sheríf. His head is still preserved in a golden dish in a cavern in the middle of the mosque of the Bení Ommayyeh in Shám (Damascus). The Maltese having removed the body of St. John from Beït Sabástiyyeh, carried it to ’Akkah, and there enclosing it in a chest adorned with jewels, conveyed it to their own country; having ever since made all their conquests in the name of St. John, whose name and figure they now bear, together with the cross, upon their banners. As St. John was nearly related to Jesus, on his mother the Virgin Marys side, the mother of Constantin built this mosque as a convent to the honour of his spirit. It was enclosed by a very strong wall, had a cistern of its own, and cells for three thousand monks. After the conquest, Mohammed the Conqueror converted it into a mosque, and it has forty-six cupolas great and small, and many beautiful columns. All its cupolas are gilt, and as it stands upon a hill, it is much admired and extremely conspicuous. In short, Mohammed the Conqueror, in the course of his reign, converted no less than 6,670 large monasteries (deïr) into places of worship for Musulmáns. He afterwards began to build a splendid mosque on his own account. He began by building the Irghát hammámí (workmen’s bath) in the Karamán chárshú-sí (Karamanian market), that the workmen might perform their ablutions every day before they began to work at the mosque. This was finished in forty days, and still bears the same name.
Description of the Mosque of Mohammed the Conqueror.
The foundations of it were laid in the year 867 (A.D. 1463), and it was finished A.H. 875 (A.D. 1470). The date of its commencement is expressed by the Arabic words Sheyyed-allahu erkánehá. It is situated on high ground, in the midst of Islámból, on the site of a convent which bore the name of king Vezendún (Byzantium). This convent having been entirely destroyed by an earthquake its site was fixed upon for this new mosque by the conqueror.
Form of this Mosque.
The ascent to it is by a flight of stone steps on the right and left; and its height from the ground to the roof is 87 builders cubits, four cubits being the height from the ground, of the platform on which it stands. It has a large cupola in the centre, and semi-cupolas over the Mihráb. The Mihráb, Mimber, and Mahfils, for the Muëzzins and the Emperor, are of white marble and of ancient workmanship. The cupola has two rows of galleries adorned with lamps. On the left side of the Mihráb stands an ancient banner in long strips, made of Alí’s doublet (jubbeh). There is nothing suspended in this mosque except lamps; but it possesses great spiritual advantages, and prayers offered up in it are sure to be answered, because the workmen employed in building it were all Musulmáns; and to this day neither Jews nor Christians are allowed to enter its blessed doors. Its spirituality was secured by the workmen, who never began their work till they had performed their ablutions, and it was built from the wealth obtained in the Conquest.
On issuing from its southern (kiblah) gate, there is seen on the right hand, a square white marble column, on which the following traditional saying of the Prophet is inscribed in blue and gold and in large Jellí characters, by Demirjí Kúlí:—“Verily, Kostantaniyyeh shall be conquered! How excellent a commander is that commander! How excellent a host is that host!” It is approached on the southern side, also, by two stone staircases on the right and left; and on the four sides of its court (harem) there are stone benches (soffahs) and variegated columns, the sculptures on which astonish the beholder. On a needle-like pillar, within the southern gate of the court, there is a figure representing a Mevleví Dervísh, with his cap and fan (mirvahah). In the centre of this court there is a large basin, covered by a leaden cupola, supported by eight columns. Round this basin there are verdant cypresses towering to the sky like minárehs, and each appearing like a green angel. On the right and left of the mosque there are lofty minárehs, with a single gallery. The cloisters round the court are covered with leaden cupolas, and the floor is paved with variegated marble. On the outside border of the windows of the court the Súrah Fátihah (1st chap. of the Korán) is inscribed in white marble letters on a green ground, in the character invented by Yákút Mosta’simí, which is not equalled by any thing of the kind in all Islámból. The architect, to shew his skill in the construction of this basin in the centre of the court, placed over it a brazen cage like a net, which is also itself a masterpiece. The water rushing out, day and night, from the pipes of this basin, affords abundantly wherewith to quench the thirst of the devout, and enable them to perform their ablutions. The great cupola of the mosque seems also to hang without support, like the vault of heaven. Before the Mihráb is the monument of Mohammed the Conqueror and his family. Besides which, on the sides of the mosque there is a great court which has eight gates, and fine gardens on both sides. Outside of it there are the eight celebrated colleges (Semániyyeh), filled with students, on both sides of which are their apartments and stables. There is also a refectory (Dáru-z-ziyáfet), a hospital (Dáru-sh-shifá), a cáravánseráï for guests, an ancient bath, and an A B C school for children. When all these buildings, crowded together, are seen from a height above, they alone appear like a town full of lead-covered domes.
Appeal of the Mi’már Báshí (Head Builder) to the Law of the Prophet against the Conqueror.
Mohammed being, like Jem, a very passionate Emperor, severely rebuked the architect for not having built his mosque of the same height as Ayá Sófiyah, and for having cut down the columns, which were each worth the whole tribute of Rúm (Asia Minor). The architect excused himself by saying, that he had cut down two columns three cubits each on purpose to give his building more solidity and strength against the earthquakes, so common in Islámból, and had thus made the mosque lower than Ayá Sófiyah. The Emperor, not satisfied with this excuse, ordered both the architects hands to be cut off, which was done accordingly. On the following day the architect appeared with his family before the tribunal of the Kází, styled Islámból-Mollá-sí, to lay his complaint against the Emperor and appeal to the sentence of the law. The Judge immediately sent his officer (Kiahyà) to cite the Emperor to appear in court. The Conqueror, on receiving this summons, said, “The command of the Prophet’s law must be obeyed!” and immediately putting on his mantle and thrusting a mace into his belt, went into the Court of Law. After having given the selám aleïk, he was about to seat himself in the highest place, when the Kází said, “Sit not down, Prince, but stand on thy feet, together with thine adversary, who has made an appeal to the law. The Mi’már Báshí (head architect) thus made his complaint: “My Lord (Sultánum)! I am a perfect master builder and a skilful mathematician; but this man, because I made his mosque low and cut down two of his columns, has cut off my two hands, has ruined me, and deprived me of the means of supporting my family. It is thy part to pronounce the sentence of the noble law.” The Judge then said to the Emperor, “What sayest thou, Prince? Have you caused this man’s hands to be cut off innocently?” The Emperor immediately replied, “By heaven! my Lord (Sultánum), this man lowered my mosque; and for having cut down two columns of mine, each of which was worth the tribute from Misr (Egypt), and thus robbed my mosque of all renown, by making it so low, I did cut off his hands: it is for thee to pronounce the sentence of the noble law.” The Kází immediately answered: “Prince (Begum), Renown is a misfortune! If a mosque be upon a plain, and low and open, worship in it is not thereby prevented. If thy stone had been a precious stone, its value would have been only that of a stone; but of this man, who has now for these forty years subsisted by his skilful workmanship, you have illegally cut off the hands. He can henceforward do nothing more than cohabit with his wife. The maintenance of him and his numerous family necessarily, by law, falls upon thee. What sayest thou, Prince (Begum)?” Sultán Mahommed answered: “Thou must pronounce the sentence of the law!” “This is the legal sentence,” replied the Kází, “that if the architect requires the law to be strictly enforced, your hands be cut off; for if a man do an illegal act which the noble law doth not allow, that law decrees that he shall be requited according to his deeds.” The Sultán then offered to grant him a pension from the public treasury of the Musulmáns. “No!” returned the Móllá; “it is not lawful to take this from the public treasury: the offence was yours; my sentence, therefore, is, that from your own private purse you shall allow this maimed man ten aspers (akchahs) a-day.” “Let it be twenty aspers a-day,” said the Conqueror; “but let the cutting off of his hands be legalized.” The architect, in the contentment of his heart, exclaimed, “Be it accounted lawful in this world and the next!” and, having received a patent for his pension, withdrew. Sultán Mohammed also received a certificate of his entire acquittal. The Kází then apologized for having treated him as an ordinary suitor; pleading the rigid impartiality of law, which requires justice to be administered to all without distinction; and entreating the Emperor to seat himself on the sacred carpet (sejjádeh). “Efendí,” said the Sultán, somewhat irritated, and drawing out his mace from under the skirt of his robe, “if thou hadst shewn favour to me, saying to thyself, ‘This is the Sultán,’ and hadst wronged the architect, I would have broken thee in pieces with this mace!” “And if thou, Prince (Begum),” said the Kází, “hadst refused to obey the legal sentence pronounced by me, thou wouldst have fallen a victim to Divine vengeance; for I should have delivered thee up to be destroyed by the dragon beneath this carpet.” On saying which he lifted up his carpet, and an enormous dragon put forth its head, vomiting fire from its mouth: “Be still,” said the Kází, and again laid the carpet smooth; on which the Sultán kissed his noble hands, wished him good day, and returned to his palace.
Subsequently, Abdál Sinán, when Mi’már Báshí, added some embellishments to this mosque, and, at a later period, ’Alí Kúshjí, the celebrated astronomer, erected a school for the instruction of Muselmán children in the Korán within the precincts (harem) of this mosque, near the Dyer’s gate (Bóyájíler kapú-sí) opposite to the great dome. The same astronomer also placed there a sun-dial, which has not its equal in the whole world. It is engraved on a square marble tablet, according to that text of the Korán:—“Dost thou at all know how thy Lord hath extended the shadow?”
After these events, in the reign of Báyazíd Velí, there was a great earthquake at Islámból for seven days and six nights. The castle of Ghalatah was damaged in many places; but it was repaired by the architect, Murád, who recorded the date of the repairs in an inscription engraved in the Jellí character on a square marble tablet. The reparations of the city were finished in sixty days. It is written, that this was the severest earthquake since the time of Yánkó ibn Mádyán. Báyazíd afterwards built a bridge of fourteen arches over the river Sakariyah, at the town of Keïveh, in the Sanják of Izmít (Nicomedia); another of nineteen arches, over the river Kizil Irmák, at the city of ’Osmánjik; and a third of nineteen arches, over the Gedúz (Hermus), in the province of Sárú khán; after which he began to build the mosque that bears his name, near the old palace in Islámból. Its foundations were laid in the year 903 (A.D. 1498), and it was finished in A.H. 911 (1505-6). It is built nearly in the same style as the mosque of his father Mohammed the Conqueror; but its two minarets are contiguous, not to it, but to the two rows of houses built on each side for the accommodation of strangers, which were subsequently added to the mosque.