Restoration project of the tomb of Rumi Mehmed Pasha and cistern-public kitchen building

Abstract

The Rumi Mehmed Pasha mosque is located on a high terrace facing the Bosphorus strait. The tomb devoted to Rumi Mehmed Pasha is situated on the south of it, behind the Kible facing wall. The tomb is in the cemetery that occupies the back yard of the mosque. The cemetery is surrounded by a garden wall and is situated on a higher level than the mosque. In the building with an octagonal plan there is a single room. The entrance is through a door on the north of the tomb. There is an arched window on an upper-level over the entrance door. Each façade of the octagonal masonry building has a lower window with metal bars and an upper level arched window. The domed roof is covered with lead sheets. The finial (alem) is missing. At the entrance into the building, the cist of Rumi Mehmed Pasha is standing in the center. The paving is cladded with square brick tiles and corresponds to the octagonal plan of the tomb. There are some traces of fresco over plaster that is visible mainly in the dome. The lower-level windows' wooden frames and shutters are present in the interior. However, there are only a few upper-level glazed windows in the interior. Rumi Mehmed Pasha was Andreas Palaiologos, the Constantinople royalty, when Ottomans conquered the city. He converted to Islam and took the name Rumi Mehmed (Runciman, 2005). Later, he was accepted to the Palace of the Ottoman Empire and gained the status of Pasha. He he seved as the Grand Vizier for several years and took part in tax reforms and the migration policy. The political activities of Rumi Mehmed Pasha reflected on him negatively and consequently were the reason of his execution. He was executed and his head was buried partially in Üsküdar and his body was buried in Tire. The Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire Rumi Mehmed Pasha endowed a mosque complex the Üsküdar district. The complex played a positive role in the development of the district both economically and culturally. The complex used to consist of a xxiv mosque, a madrasa, a tomb devoted to Rumi Mehmed Pasha, a hamam, a well and a water-tank with a fountain. There was a waterway that provided water to the complex. Yet, since the flume lost its function due to abandonment, the water was provided through the Atik Valide flume of Nur-Banu Sultan. There is a building in ruins on the north corner of the mosque walls. According to some sources, it is believed to be part of the Şerefâbâd Kiosk. Others mention it as a cistern and the public kitchen of Rumi Mehmed Pasha mosque complex (Ayverdi, 1953; Konyali,1976 ; Haskan, 1995). Ayverdi (1953) writes that it was constructed with rubble stons of the original public kitchen. The tomb suffers from lack of maintenance. Also, the previous inappropriate interventions made a negative impact. The present day situation reveals that the building suffers from various material deterioration types and structural instability. A series of interventions methods were selected in order to restore the building. Firstly, a method to gain the stability was chosen. Later, it was advices to consolidate on level of a single element and a detailed description of application was given. Following that, a finishing advice on improving visitors' experience with improvement regarding lightning and educational information was given with the aim to cover the environment of the monument.