FIGHT OF A CENTURY: WHERE IN KAYSERI WAS MIMAR SINAN BORN?
Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 30 2009
Turkey
Agırnas and Mimar Sinan, two villages in the central Anatolian
province of Kayseri, have been fighting each other for nearly 100 years
over their competing claims to be the birthplace of Ottoman architect
MimarbaÅ~_ı Sinan. As a result, one resident says, families have
gone so far as to forbid marriages between young people from the
two villages
Kayseri’s Agrınas village is officially recognized as the hometown
of MimarbaÅ~_ı Sinan.
An entire century has proved an insufficient amount of time for
residents of two neighboring villages in the central Anatolian
province of Kayseri to determine which town was the birthplace of
Turkey’s most renowned architect.
Kayseri’s Agrınas village is officially recognized as the hometown
of MimarbaÅ~_ı Sinan, the chief architect for the Ottoman Empire,
who is often referred to as simply Mimar Sinan, or architect Sinan.
A member of a family from Kayseri, according to history books, Sinan
is said to have created his first works as a child using kevenk,
a volcanic stone unique to Kayseri, which sits amid the foothills of
the extinct volcano Mount Erciyes.
During the time of Yavuz Sultan Selim, Sinan was taken into the guild
of the janissaries, an Ottoman infantry corps. Sons of Christian
families living within the borders of the empire were taken from their
families, converted to Islam and educated in the guild of janissaries.
Before Agırnas sits the village of Talas, which still maintains its
historical character. We felt like time travelers as we visited the
village’s abandoned and ruined churches and ancient streets.
The most interesting stop in Talas was undoubtedly the historical
Talas American College and Hospital complex. The structure, which
is affiliated with Erciyes University and makes a strong impression
with its unique architecture, almost defies the years from its perch
overlooking the village.
Agırnas-born botany expert Sinan Demiroglu, who guards the historical
building and bears the same name as the famous architect, guided us
throughout the day after learning that one person from our team has
roots in Kayseri.
Fight to claim ownership
All historical sources cite Agırnas as the birthplace of MimarbaÅ~_ı
Sinan, but some Kayseri locals believe that the legendary architect
was born in the nearby village of Mimar Sinan, just a few hundred
meters away. The residents of the two villages have quarreled for
decades over ownership of their most famous son.
"Mimar Sinan villagers say that he was born there; Agırnas villagers
say their village is mentioned as the birthplace in all records
and thus claim ownership," Demiroglu told the Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review. "According to my 93-year-old grandmother, this fight
has been continuing for nearly 100 years."
As a result, Demiroglu added, families have gone so far as to forbid
marriages between young people from the two different villages.
Cell towers changed the village
While visiting the villages one by one, we also passed through Germir,
just a few kilometers from Talas and the birthplace of internationally
renowned American director Elia Kazan. Demiroglu said he had hosted
Kazan in his grandmother’s mansion when the late director visited
the village several years ago.
Unlike Talas, Germir has failed to preserve its historical fiber. The
entrance to the village resembles a construction site; seven- or
eight-story buildings rise from everywhere. There is nothing left in
the village, which was famous for its vineyards and orchards.
Although rapid growth is cited as the cause of the changes in Germir,
Demiroglu says the main factors are the mobile phone towers placed
in the village.
"The villagers went to court because of the towers," he said, adding
that they had filed suit in an ongoing case to have the mobile phone
towers removed. "Germir was also famous for walnut trees, but like
the vineyards and orchards, they are no longer producing."
The story of the golden bell
The final destination on our tour with Demiroglu was a ruined Armenian
church in Germir. "I grew up playing in this church. We used to throw
stones at the portraits of saints on the walls," he said, adding that
he now regrets this.
The church’s historic bell had been stolen, and Demiroglu said he
believed the legend that his grandmother tells about how the bell
was taken away.
"A big airplane came close to the bell tower. My grandmother says
that it was a German airplane," he said. "Those in the plane took
the church’s golden bell and flew away."
Who was MimarbaÅ~_ı Sinan?
According to historical records, MimarbaÅ~_ı Sinan was born in
Kayseri’s Agırnas village and was taken into the guild of janissaries
at the time of Yavuz Sultan Selim.
Sinan’s ethnic roots remain a matter of intense debate to this day,
with some claiming he was of Armenian or Greek origin and others
saying he was a Turk.
Earning the title of chief architect of the palace, Sinan decorated
the empire with his works, including the Husreviye complex in Aleppo,
Syria; the Coban Mustafa PaÅ~_a complex in Gebze; and the Haseki
complex, built for Hurrem Sultan, in Istanbul.
Three of his works built after he became chief architect can be viewed
as steps displaying the development of his art.
The first is the Å~^ehzade Mosque and complex in Istanbul. The
Suleymaniye Mosque, built a few years later, is considered the
architect’s most magnificent work in Istanbul. Lastly, the Selimiye
Mosque, in the northwestern city of Edirne, is widely considered to
be Sinan’s masterpiece.
The Selimiye Mosque, which he built while in his 80s, has a dome that
is higher and deeper than that of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.