The Underground Sancaklar Mosque in Istanbul

It took us around two and a half hours to reach Sancaklar neighborhood, which lies on the outskirts of Istanbul Metropolitan City, to check out the famous Sancaklar Mosque. Riding through 34 of the 44 stops on the metrobus (from Gayrettepe to Cumhuriyet Mahallesi) was only a third of the trip, followed by bus 418 till the Şehit Ömer Halisdemir bus stop. Patience. From there, a little walk of 25 minutes led us to the minaret of the mosque. Yes, you’ll reach the minaret of the mosque first. We were a group of five people comprising two architecture candidates, one urban planning candidate, a communications and management student and another friend evolving in the field of mechatronics engineering. This detail is important since this is where our connection with the place differed. Without disrespecting the design, the first comment by our engineering student friend was – ‘This minaret looks like a chimney’ and as for the communication student, his comment was pretty cliché when he said – ‘That looks cool’. For the remaining three of us, we just had the ‘How and Why’ questions popping into our heads. Having already googled about it, we knew that something different was awaiting us but were yet to feel it.

Prior to narrating our experience during the visit, let me give you some brief information about the mosque and how it came to life. The Sancaklar Mosque (2013) is a work crafted by the architect Emre Arolat and won the ‘Religious Building of the Year’ in 2015. It is different from the stereotypical image of a mosque that most people have in their head and it can arguably be one of the best examples of the idea of ‘working with the topography’ or as Emre Arolat himself explained – ‘making a design which will harmonize with its location’. In his speech, Arolat also adds that he wanted to bring to life a design which represents a certain humility and modesty which he believes to be two important elements of Islamic philosophy.

The client, The Sancaklar Foundation (Sancaklar Vakfı) initially proposed Arolat the idea of creating a leveled platform on which the architect will design and build the mosque. However, Arolat visited the site and studied topography to come up with something different. He examined the topography and imagined how he can create a walking experience from the upper part till the lowest point of the site. This is where his firm, Emre Arolat Architects, stands out. They could have easily requested for a leveled platform and ‘just drop the design from a helicopter’ but no, the architect studied the environment and managed to connect with the topography thus bringing alive a design which is a first of its kind.

The design on its own is soothing enough to make you enjoy the visit but if you have potential great architects to be as well as good storytellers (my friends Jawaad and Gökberk in this story) you’ll surely see beyond ‘just a mosque’. I will attempt to give a similar description of the experience by employing a more or less same blend of terminologies used by my fellow architects and hopefully, it will be a successful attempt to connect with your imagination.

First, imagine a clear cut from the noisy and hectic metropolitan city of Istanbul. This is the neighbourhood of Sancaklar. As you walk from the bus stop (25 minutes on foot from the mosque) you’ll gradually see the minaret of the mosque. If you are an architecture enthusiast, you’ll look forward to seeing more of it but if you still find yourself left unimpressed by a simple standing, non-stereotypical minaret then please be a little bit more patient. After being welcomed by the only minaret of the mosque, you’ll find yourself at the entrance (which we would call the mouth of the experience).

Now that one has been through the main entrance, they will find themselves at the top of a staircase which when stepped down will eventually lead to a gradual disconnection from the noisy and hectic Istanbul we all know. The landscape in which the mosque has been integrated is immaculately taken care of and visitors are greeted by the bright green lawn which covers quite a large surface area. To our surprise, the lawn was so inviting that our friend felt the need to remove his shoes and connect with nature by pressing the palm of his foot to the ground. The green lawn which I referred to previously is termed as a canopy in architectural terms. So, under this canopy is the building and it is accessed by the stairs which as if, have an invisible hand guiding us to the rooms of the building. The amazing feeling of stepping into such a well-designed building is that you do not feel the presence of a man made structure. The construction elements blend completely with the topography and make the building a part of the natural environment around it. On the far side of the building, there are benches which allow visitors to enjoy the views of typical Turkish villages from afar.

For those who are still left unimpressed by the outside of the building, enter the praying hall. The interior of the mosque is even better than the pictures that we looked up on google prior to our visit. You’ve been walking from an open space (the canopy) and it gets darker and darker (from the stair to the halls) as you approach the mosque. But this darkness is showered by natural lighting and does not tire the eyes. We even looked through the split and allowed the light to play with our retina but it was in vain. The light just kissed our faces and spread along the wall. Be it someone religious or not, it seems to be the right place to pray, to be alone with God or to be alone with oneself. A religious person will look for a connection with his creator in this place and so does will someone who is looking for inner peace. On the whole, the Emre Arolat Architects showed once again how architecture can be engineered to fit in the natural environment and how buildings can be built to give someone an experience and not only a room.

All photos of courtesy of the author.