This complex of Sultan Bayezid II, consisting of a mosque with a tabhâne (guesthouse-resting place) on both sides and a soup kitchen (imaret), kitchen, supply warehouse, madrasah, dârüşşifâ and bathhouse around it, was built on the northern bank of the Tunca River right on the edge of the river.
There is no trace of the bath built across the road to the south of the complex today. Another building belonging to this complex is the bridge connecting this area to the city (Beyazit II Bridge). Bayezid II, who came to Edirne in 889 Rebîülâhir (May 1484) to embark on the Kili and Akkirman expedition, had the foundations of the buildings laid during his stay here, and the mosque was completed in 893 (1487-88) according to its inscription. It can be assumed that the other buildings of the complex were completed on the same dates. Three endowments of the Beyazıt Complex have been identified. The first of these is dated 892 Cemâziyelâhir (June 1487) and is in Arabic. The second endowment, which was written in Turkish at the request of the sultan so that the foundation officials could better understand it, was dated 895 (1489-90) and includes a complete list of the officials and their salaries. There is also a third waqf dated 29 Rajab 913 (December 4, 1507), a copy of which is preserved in the archives of the Foundations and the Prime Ministry, and a copy written in 1214 (1799), which was copied from a waqf dated early 898 Zilkadesi (August 1493). A copy of this one is said to be in the Selimiye Library in Edirne. The endowments list the names of the villages in various parts of Thrace and Rumelia that were part of the külliye's endowment and the income collected each year. Revenues increased from 782,930 akçes at the end of the XVth century to 1,552,131 akçes in the second half of the XVIth century. In the kulliye, 147 people working at various levels received salaries, and eighteen students living in the madrasah also received a daily allowance of two akçe. There was also a small library of forty-two volumes of books on tafsir, hadith, fiqh, kalām, usul, rhetoric, logic and medicine.
The mosque's construction inscription in six rulers arranged in two lines is above the sentence gate. This inscription is known to have been written by Zenbilli Ali Efendi and its calligrapher is the famous Sheikh Hamdullah. There are two more inscriptions in five lines each on the niches in the form of mihrabs on the right and left walls of the entrance door. In these inscriptions, which resemble Sheikh Hamdullah's style in terms of style, the 9th and 10th verses of the Friday sûra inviting the believers to Friday prayer are written. The Turkish history poem written by the poet Ahmed Pasha about the complex was not engraved as an inscription.
The Beyazıt Mosque and Complex was visited by Evliya Çelebi in the seventeenth century and in his Seyahatnâme, he gave a detailed description of the darüşşifa. The Beyazıt Complex, which was also seen by all foreign travelers passing through Edirne during the Ottoman period and mentioned in their travelogues, was also examined by two Frenchmen, G. Sayger and A. Desarnod, during the Ottoman-Russian War of 1827, and their drawings were published in the album presented to Tsar Nicholas I in 1830. C. Gurlitt, on the other hand, included a plan of the Beyazıt Complex in his article published in 1911 after a few days of work in Edirne. Sedat Çetintaş drew a more accurate plan and survey of the mosque and the complex between 1935 and 1940. Aydın Yüksel prepared and published more detailed plans and surveys.
The location of the Beyazıt Mosque and Complex on the banks of the Tunca River caused many valuable works here to be severely damaged by river floods in the nineteenth century. During the Balkan War and the years that followed, Edirne as a city fell into a great depression and decline, and the Beyazıt Complex was one of the most damaged monuments of the city. Sultan Bayezid II Complex, one of these important buildings of our history, which faced the danger of being destroyed and disappeared due to the economic difficulties experienced after the Republic, was transferred to Trakya University in 1984 and started to be used as educational areas after a comprehensive restoration. Today, it welcomes its visitors as a museum affiliated to Trakya University.
Beyazıt Complex covers a large area. To the right of the outer courtyard separated by a wall were the dârüşşifâ and the madrasah, and to the left were the caravanserai (?), kitchens and soup kitchen-imaret. At the end of this outer courtyard on the Tunca side is the mosque. Adjacent to the wall outside the courtyard gate is a fountain with four facades and a pyramid-shaped masonry cone. According to its inscription, this fountain was built by Sinan Aga in 1080 (1669-70).
Mosque; The mosque courtyard with entrances from three sides is surrounded by domed porticoes. Some of the portico arches made of double-colored stones sit on granite, some on white marble and some on green breccia columns. There are double rows of windows on the outer walls of the courtyard. Evliya Çelebi reports that there are four cypress trees planted by Sultan Bayezid himself in this courtyard, of which no trace remains today. There is a large marble fountain pool in the center, which is understood from some traces that it was previously covered with a canopy. It was also found that there was a well on the courtyard floor. Although the last congregation place leaves the impression of the continuation of the porticoes in terms of architecture, the dome in the middle, which is crossed with rich muqarnas, was built higher than the others. In addition, the domes on both sides are spiral sliced from the inside. The last two sections of the last congregation pass to the tabhânes. The crown gate of the mosque is of extraordinary beauty in terms of architectural proportions. There is a construction inscription on the door arch made of two-colored stones. The top of the door niche is also decorated with muqarnas. The harim of the mosque is completely square and four half-round arches embedded in the walls carry the dome with a diameter of about 20 meters with the help of corner pendants. This dome, which reaches a height of 31 meters inside, provides a majestic exterior appearance with the cubic mass of the Beyazıt Mosque. In addition to the windows opened in the dome pulley illuminating the interior, there are also windows lined up in a harmonious manner on the facades. The niche of the marble mihrab also has muqarnas. The marble pulpit is one of the most beautiful among its precedents. The hünkâr mahfili, which is considered to be the first in Ottoman period Turkish art and located in the left corner of the mosque harim, is on arches made of double-colored marbles. A marble railing with a network surrounds it. From the traces on the qibla facade, it is understood that there was a wooden annex building outside the mahfil before. It is clearly evident that this was added later. Gurlitt states that this was a pavilion. An old photograph shows that the pavilion sits on thin columns and is empty underneath. The interlaced door wings of the mosque are also fine examples of Turkish woodwork. The pencil embroidery decorating the walls, pendants and around the windows of the mosque were probably made in the XIXth century and are not compatible with the architectural style of the work.
Located in the Yeniimaret neighborhood of the central district of our city, the mosque is open for worship today.
Minarets; The double minarets of the Beyazıt Mosque are at the outer corners of the tabhânes on both sides. Evliya Çelebi attributes the distance of the minarets from the mosque to the reason that they would not damage the dome if they collapsed in the earthquake. Their pulpits are multi-faceted and the sides of each facade are decorated with 3/4 diameter columns with muqarnas capitals and fluted bodies. There are Bursa arches above these columns. Each façade is also decorated with a protruding panel. The chamfered bodies of the minarets reach up to the mukarnas balconies. The minaret pulpits of the Beyazıt Mosque have a special value with their architectural ornaments, which are rare in Turkish art.
Tabhâneler (Guest House-Resting Place); A tabhâneler was built adjacent to the two side facades of the mosque. These tabhânes, which have doors both to the last congregation place and to the outside from the sides, were built according to the scheme of four rooms in the corners with four iwans diagonally, which is the usual plan type of Turkish architectural tradition since Central Asia. The iwans and rooms are covered with a dome. Since the central space was designed like a closed courtyard, its dome, which is higher than the others, was decorated with rich muqarnas and a lighthouse was placed in the center. In tabhânes, which were common in the Ottoman architecture of the XIV-XV. centuries, pabuçluks were built to accommodate the travelers passing by, and a hearth was built in each room for those who were hosted in the rooms. The tradition of tabhâne adjacent to the mosque, which completely disappeared in Ottoman architecture after the reign of Kanûnî, found its most monumental expression here, as in the Beyazıt Mosque in Istanbul.
Madrasa; Located to the right of the mosque's outer courtyard, the madrasa consists of eighteen domed cells surrounding a domed, porticoed fountain courtyard and a classroom-masjid in the center. Since the endowment records eighteen students, it means that each cell with a hearth and book cupboard was intended to accommodate one student. It is understood that the claim that this was a medical madrasah is not based on a solid foundation. Ibn Kemal was among its teachers and the books mentioned in the foundation were also kept in this madrasah.
Dârüşşifâ; Dârüşşifâ, which has a distinct place among the charitable buildings of the Ottoman period, is also interesting in terms of its architecture. Although there is no mention of such a service in the foundation deed, Evliya Çelebi writes that the mentally ill patients were treated with music and therefore a music committee playing various instruments gave concerts for the patients three days a week. Dârüşşifâ worked until the war of 1876, then it was evacuated for a while, and while it was used again at the end of the last century, it was closed during the Balkan War and left to ruin. Sultan Bayezid II Complex, one of the most important buildings of our history, which faced the danger of being destroyed due to the economic difficulties experienced after the Republic, was transferred to Trakya University in 1984 and started to be used as educational areas after a comprehensive restoration.
In 1997, the darüşşifa section of the complex, which was converted into a museum, received the 2004 European Museum Award of the Council of Europe, one of the most prestigious museum awards in the world, and had an important promotional opportunity. In 2005, it received the second best presentation award at the "World Meeting of Award-winning Museums" in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and in 2008, it received the "Best Presentation Award" in Cologne, Germany, making another great contribution to the promotion of our country and culture. The museum was accepted into the "Club of Excellence" by the European Cultural Heritage Association.
Here, an "Ottoman bimarhanesi" (Bimar: Patient, Hane: House) of 500 years ago was recreated. In addition to the medical knowledge of the period, music, the sound of water, fragrances and occupation are used in the treatment of patients, bringing the past to the present with a rich visual narrative.
Behind a columned portico on one side of the rectangular first courtyard of the Dârüşşifân, six cells with hearths and covered with domes are lined up. There are latrines at the very beginning. The gallery of the portico is covered with a vault. In the opposite corner of the courtyard, there is a section consisting of four spaces, one of which is vaulted and three of which are domed with lanterns. According to some, this section, which has a well just outside it and whose exact function is unclear, is a laundry, kitchen and storehouse for provisions. The presence of a well next to it supports this assumption.
A beautiful crown door on the bottom wall of an iwan opening to the courtyard provides access to the second courtyard. On both sides of the iwan are domed sections that can only be entered from the first courtyard. These rectangular sections, the purpose of which is unclear, also have hearths and consist of two domed sections, each separated by an arch. On either side of the second courtyard, there are domed iwans and square cells, also domed, at the four corners. In the center of the wide side of the courtyard was the crown gate giving passage to the third part. The fact that the iwans have benches with footrests underneath them indicates that they were designed for sitting in the appropriate seasons.
The most architecturally interesting part of the Dârüşşifân is the third section. It is organized according to a hexagonal plan and six iwan open to the hexagonal hall in the center. Four of these have sitting benches inside them. The central sofa or space has the character of an enclosed courtyard covered with a large dome with a lighthouse. There is a fountain fountain in the center.
Between the iwans, there are cells covered with domes with skillfully arranged entrances and hearths. After the cells on either side of the iwan to the south of the central hall, which can only be accessed through the iwan, there is a section with five facades and plenty of windows that protrudes from the center. Some have argued that this was a place of prayer, while others have claimed that the musicians mentioned by Evliya Çelebi took place on this ledge. The dârüşşifâsı of the Beyazıt Complex is a very valuable work of Turkish hospital architecture, with no other analogues.
In addition to the large number of personnel listed in the foundation deed of the Beyazıt Complex, the presence of a very crowded community in this foundation "site" is understood when the guests in the medical centers, the students in the madrasah, and the patients treated in the dârüşşifâ are taken into account. For these people, soup kitchen-imaret facilities were built on the left side of the outer courtyard of the complex. However, it is not possible to understand the original functions of the sections and spaces that make up the aşhane-imaret buildings. It is likely that there were spaces used for other tasks besides the dining hall, the storehouse and the kitchen. They consisted of two building masses with a space between them. The first mass, which is close to the mosque, consists of domed spaces surrounding a square courtyard, and it is likely that the space in the form of a long ward with three domes was the dining hall. On the other side of the courtyard, there is a domed four-sectioned space in the center resting on a single pâye and a fifth space connected to it. Light lanterns can be seen above the four domes. The second building mass consists of two parts. The one in the center with a square plan with four domes is the kitchen, as can be understood from the two large hearths inside. It is not known what the rectangular part with eight domes, which is adjacent to this part but not connected to it, was. Although it has been suggested that it was a stable, this claim is not very convincing. Only the presence of crenellated air vents seems to support this view. However, there is also the possibility that this large section was designed as a caravanserai.
Hamam; The facility specified as a double bath in the foundation was located on the opposite side of the street. No trace of this bath, whose water was drawn from Tunca with a Ferris wheel and whose annual income was 10,000 akçe, remains today. In an old photograph, the bath, which appears to have been quite large, can be seen with two large domes for changing places. According to Rıfkı Melûl Meriç, this bath, which was operational in 1172 (1758-59), was demolished by the Foundations in 1311 (1893-94) and its stones were used to build embankments.
Sultan Bayezid II Khan Complex was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2016.
