Istanbul: The Sick Man of Europe

Similar to Moscow, religious structures, specifically the Suleymaniye Mosque, are an integral part of Istanbul’s urban environment. Through reflecting the prominence and gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Suleymaniye Mosque supports the argument of the city as a palimpsest.

Suleymaniye Mosque

Map of the Ottoman Empire

A Magnificent Empire

The first layer of the city’s palimpsest relates to the original vision and design behind the Suleymainye Mosque. The mosque itself was commissioned by Suleyman the Magnificent and represents the prominence of the Ottoman Empire. As one of the longest ruling monarchs in the world, Suleyman ruled during the height of the Ottoman Empire and nearly doubled the size of the empire (1). During his reign, Suleyman desired to “create a mosque as majestic and grandiose as the empire he ruled over” (2). In the late 1540’s, Suleyman commissioned his chief architect Mimar Sinan to design the Suleymaniye Mosque. Drawing from the city’s past Byzantine and Islamic influences, Sinan created a structure that truly reflected the opulence of the Ottoman Empire (3). The original vision and design behind the Suleymaniye Mosque remain an important layer to Istanbul’s palimpsest because they represent the city during the height of the empire.

Cartoon Depicting the "Sick Man of Europe"

Gradual Decline

Nearly a century after its construction, the Suleymaniye Mosque gradually began to deteriorate after years of neglect. This deterioration contributes another layer to the city’s palimpsest through reflecting the similar decline of the Ottoman Empire. After suffering an embarrassing loss to the Hapsburg Empire in 1683, many Europeans nicknamed the once glorious empire as the “sick man of Europe” (4) Soon after, the Ottoman Empire lost strategic territories which led to economic challenges across the empire. Increasing poverty made it difficult for the empire to channel funds towards preserving the mosque. As a result, in 1660, the interior of the mosque was destroyed by a fire, and in 1766, the central dome collapsed after an earthquake due to poor structural maintenance.

Image from Memories and the City Depicting Istanbul's Structural Deterioration

This structural deterioration of the Suleymaniye Mosque reflects the overarching decline of both Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire. In Istanbul: Memories and the City, Pamuk portrays the city through mournful observations of the city’s disrepair. When narrating the history of Istanbul, Pamuk laments, “The melancholy of this dying culture was all around us. Great as the desire to westernize and modernize may have been, the more desperate wish was to be rid of all the bitter memories of the fallen empire” (5). In comparing the city with the once-glorious Ottoman Empire, Pamuk emphasizes the challenges of reviving the city to its former eminence. In further sections of the novel, he continues to elaborate on the structural deterioration of Istanbul’s buildings. He describes, “the overwhelming melancholy when I look at the walls of old apartment buildings. . . poverty and neglect had ensured these houses were never painted.”

These descriptions of decline fundamentally contradict Soja’s arguments in his theoretical essay, Six Discourses on the Postmetropolis. Through discussing the various ways that cities can economically, socially, or culturally develop, Soja presents a clear vision on how cities modernize and evolve over time (6). Istanbul contradicts many of these discourses because rather than modernizing, the city declined into disrepair: landmarks like the Suleymaniye Mosque were no longer maintained and many of the ordinary buildings on the streets experienced structural deterioration. 

Ultimately, the ascension and gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire define unique layers to Istanbul’s urban identity. Particularly through the perspective of the Suleymaniye Mosque, the original vision and eventual deterioration of the mosque contribute to the city’s palimpsest through reflecting the impact of the Ottoman Empire on structures of the city.