The Seikh Wafâ Külliye
The Seikh Wafâ Külliye, after whose name a district in Istanbul is called, consists of such elements as mosque, school, hânikah, double-bath, imaret, tabhane, library, fountain and tomb. The mosque and the double-bath were built by Mehmed II. Although it has been claimed that the mosque was converted from an old church, historical documents firmly establish the construction of the mosque by Sultan Mehmed. During the time of Sultan Bayezid II, the structure was transformed into a building complex (külliye) by adding the school, kitchen and library. There is a room for the sheikh to the south of the mosque, the Ibn Wafâ tomb to the southwest, and (possibly) the school to the north of it. We know that the double-bath was to west of the mosque, but there are no remnants of it today. The mosque was ruined by the beginning of the 20th century; the attempts at reconstruction were interrupted by the World War I. It was only recently that the mosque was rebuilt. Also, only the western and northern walls of the school remained for today. In the square-shaped stone tomb to south of the mosque, Sheikh Ibn al-Wafâ and his deputies (halîfas) are buried. In the cemetery to the west of the mosque, there are remnants of a 16th -century open tomb. The Seikh Wafâ Külliye, which includes more architectural elements than a regular sufî complex, was ruined by earthquakes and fires, as a result of which most of its structures could not survive today.
Aziz DOĞANAY
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