Mihrimah Sultan Madrasa
Audio Narration:
Construction Year:
1547
Location:
Üsküdar, İstanbul
Ordered By:
Mihrimah Sultan
Architect:
Mimar Sinan
Changes After Construction:
- In the 1961 repair, the access/approach arrangement of the madrasa was reworked, and an entrance scheme was formed in which the classroom section is reached by stairs.
- In the 1961 repair, some changes were made to the interior arrangement, and the madrasa courtyard was covered.
- In the Republican period, it was used for a long time as a Children’s Dispensary and a Mental Health building.
- Today it is used as a private medical/health center.
Prominent Features:
- It is also known as the Kurşunlu Madrasa; it is stated that its domes were covered with lead.
- It is located to the north of the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque; the rectangular courtyard is entered through a monumental gate opening from the mosque courtyard, and it is noted that there was a marble fountain at the center of the courtyard.
- The cells are defined as a total of sixteen, with seven on each of the two long sides of the porticoed courtyard and one on each side of the classroom.
- It is recorded that the rooms had three windows each, as well as fireplace and cupboard niches; in front of the gate, the rooms, and the classroom, there was a domed portico carried by marble columns, whose capitals are described as diamond-shaped.
- The square-planned classroom is described as having a single blind dome; it is stated that there were small supporting domes at the corners and that the classroom was lit by windows.
- It is stated that the madrasa stands on a terrace and that the facade on the sea side was reinforced with stone buttresses.
- In the conditions of the endowment, daily akçe allocations were assigned for the mudarris and the students; it is recorded that the madrasa’s first mudarris, Imamzade Mehmet Efendi, was appointed in 1547–1548.