Sinan, an Architect?
They are the representational circles of creation and the cosmos in art. In his book “Europe, a Prophecy” William Blake depicted the God in the act of creating with a compass in his hand. The painter claims to have seen this image in real life, perhaps it was the delusion of his delusional periods. In the Qur’an, Bible and other holy books, God is often described in the creation of the world by referring to the compass/caliper or circles in his hand. William Blake also depicted the god in the sky with a compass in this painting.
In Christian art, God holds a compass as he creates the universe, an instrument for measuring, creating, and drawing circles. The circles drawn with a compass also point to infinity. It is known that the compass symbol has been used for this expression for thousands of years.
Giotto’s “The Perfect Circle”, an important painter/sculptor/architect of the Proto-renaissance period, has been described as the supreme creative ability bestowed on him by God.
Creation, the idea that the ability to create passes from God to humans is similarly found in all beliefs.
Architecture is one of the professions where this talent is divine, especially in artistic creation processes. Architecture includes a holistic creation process that directly covers the fields of art, science and engineering before it turns into the profession we know today.
“Architect Sinan”, who first comes to mind when Ottoman architecture is mentioned, is one of the representatives with the highest creative power. The Süleymaniye Mosque and Complex, which is one of the greatest works of Sinan, has extraordinary details, its location on a sloping land and the harmony of all building groups are still among the study subjects today. There is a very modest tomb at the northern end of the complex, this is Sinan’s tomb. When you look at the top plan of the entire complex, it can be seen that the tomb is positioned as a compass. We can also understand from the excellent results he created on domes and all inclined surfaces that Sinan himself knew that he had divine talent.
