Fountain of Youth (Ab-ı Hayat Çeşmesi), The Tiled Kiosk, Istanbul, Turkey

            Fountain: One of the niches of the room in the left corner of the Tiled Kiosk (Çinili Köşk) was transformed into a fountain in the era of Ottoman Sultan Murad III (1574-1595). The figure of peacock in the middle of herbal motifs on the stone plate attracts interest. The ornaments are hand-carved and gilded.

From the two marble inscriptions of twelve verses carved in Nastaleeq script on the two sidewalls of the fountain, it is understood that it was built in the year of 999 according to the Islamic calendar (1590 AD) and that the Tiled Kiosk was called the Glazed Palace (Sırça Saray) in those years.

This fountain is well known because it is the model of the Osman Hamdi Bey's oil painting, dating 1904. For this painting, Osman Hamdi Bey had used the photo taken while he was standing next to the fountain.

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Porcelain Tiles: In Islamic art, the principles of unity and harmony with nature and the heaven are symbolized by the circular geometry. The circle is known as the perfect expression of justice-equality in all directions in a finite domain.

The hexagon is close in shape to the circle and is associated with the perfection of the circle. Therefore, hexagons and six pointed stars are very important symbols in Islam as the representations of Heaven and perfection.

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The Tiled Kiosk (Turkish: Çinili Köşk) is a pavilion set within the outer walls of Topkapı Palace and dates from 1473. It was built by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II as a pleasure palace or kiosk. It is located in the most outer parts of the palace, next to Gülhane Park. It was also called Glazed Kiosk (Sırça Köşk).

The exterior glazed bricks show a Central Asian influence, especially from the Bibi-Khanym Mosque in Samarkand. The square, axial plan represents the four corners of the world and symbolizes, in architectural terms, the universal authority and sovereignty of the Sultan. As there is no Byzantine influence, the building is ascribed to an unknown Persian architect. The stone-framed brick and the polygonal pillars of the façade are typical of Persia. 

The blue-and-white tiles on the wall are arranged in hexagons and triangles in the Bursa manner. Some show delicate patterns of flowers, leaves, clouds or other abstract forms. 

It was used as the Imperial Museum (İmparatorluk Müzesi) between 1875 and 1891. It was opened to the public in 1953 as a museum of Turkish and Islamic art, and was later incorporated into the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. 

The pavilion contains many examples of İznik tiles and Seljuk pottery and now houses the Museum of Islamic Art.

Taken in: Turkey / İstanbul / İstanbul / Sirkeci (show map)

Taken on: July 15, 2012

Tags:

Fountain

Youth

Hayat

Çeşmesi

Ottoman

Style

Osmanlı

オットマン

ντιβανοκασέλα

османски

ottomane

otomano

ottomano

奥斯曼

divan

العثماني

Çeşme

Tiled

Kiosk

Çinili

Köşk

Pottery

Çini

Porcelain

Tile

Kachel

瓦

laterem

rajola

керемида

teils

タイル

قرميدة

azulejo

плитка

плочица

πλακάκι

tegel

կղմինդր

tjegull

tuile

porcelaine

piastrella

porcellana

porcelana

الخزف

фарфор

πορσελάνη

porselein

flis

porselen

نافورة

噴水

фонтан

fuente

real

παγώνι

павлиний

الطاووس

tovuz

ფარშევანგი

孔雀

クジャク

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Sets appears in: • Best of Ottoman • Ottoman Turkish Art

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Camera: NIKON COOLPIX P80, f/2.8, 1/8 sec, 4.7mm, ISO 259 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	NIKON COOLPIX P80
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.125 sec (1/8)
Focal Length:	4.7mm
ISO:	259
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Landscape
Gain Control:	High gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Macintosh
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