Sümbüliye Madrasa

Audio Narration:

Construction Year:

1486 (Estimated)

Location:

Fatih, İstanbul

Ordered By:

Grand Vizier Koca Mustafa Pasha

Architect:

Unknown

Changes After Construction:
  • Because the domes of the cells on the right side had collapsed, they were covered throughout with a continuous vault.
  • For a period, it was used by the Fatih Mufti’s Office as a Qur’an course for male students without an allocation decision.
  • During this period of use, the portico on the left side was enclosed and turned into a kitchen.
  • It was stated that the floors and walls in the interior were covered with tiles up to a height of approximately 1.50 meters and that the spaces between the porticoes were enclosed with iron joinery.
  • In the most recent cadastral studies, the madrasa and its courtyard were registered as separate parcels.
Prominent Features:
  • It is also known as the Koca Mustafa Pasha Madrasa; it is located to the southwest of the Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque.
  • It stands on an area measuring approximately 9.45 × 9.15 meters; there are eight cells on each side of the classroom mass, which has outer edges broken at 45 degrees.
  • All of the cells have fireplaces; each cell is lit by one lower and one upper window.
  • It is stated that there was a well at the center of the courtyard.
  • Because of its importance, it was regarded at the level of the “Musile-i Süleymaniye”; based on the total allocation assigned to the students in the endowment deed, it is considered that the madrasa probably had 13 students.
  • In records dated 953/1546, it is stated that the Koca Mustafa Pasha Complex consisted of a mosque, a madrasa, an imaret, and a khanqah.