Abstract:

The Sultan Ahmed Complex is one of the few complexes representing the 17th century Ottoman architecture, and is even the largest in terms of building community and area. It is one of the last works of classical period developed by Mimar Sinan and his students in Ottoman architecture. At the same time, it is one of the works in the preparation stage of a new era in which different dimensions were tried in Ottoman architecture and the complex system was abandoned. Therefore, the works that define the 17th century should be understood in terms of understanding the whole of Ottoman architecture and their preferences should be evaluated well. This situation brings up the examination of the archival documents as first hand source which were written by the state organization and construction officials of the period. Sultan Ahmed Mosque-based complex information can be accessed by scanning resources such as rûznamçe, vâridât and masârif books. It is possible to get information from archival sources on many subjects such as construction workers, used materials, construction stages, organization, etc. In this study, with emphasis on wood used, through archival documents; the information about sources, genres, masters, costs and arts has been examined.