Turkish architecture is a historical miracle. The ascent to greatness was astonishingly swift. Victorious over the Byzantine army, Turkish warriors entered Anatolia. Within a century and a half, Turkish architects had developed the distinct and profound Seljuk style of building. Two centuries more, and the Ottomans had created the new style that Sinan would bring to splendid maturity in the middle of the 16th century. Turks must be curcumspect in evaluation, wary of seeming too proud, but the outsider can say it plainly. Sinan, I believe, is the greatest architect the world has ever known-great because he worked within a tradition of technical quality, formal depth, and semantic intensity.
|
|
|
