Muharrem Hilmi Şenalp (born 1957 in

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

, Turkey) is a Turkish architect. His work is often inspired by

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is an architectural style or tradition that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century an ...

. He has been called Turkish president

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

's "court architect", and is a close friend of the president. His company, Hassa Architecture, specializes in neo-Ottoman style. Şenalp takes inspiration from 16th century architect

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...

, who worked for

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

Early life and education

He attended high school in

, and graduated from the

Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University, also known as Technical University of Istanbul (, commonly referred to as İTÜ), is an public university, public technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...

in 1981.

Works

His work include the new Tokyo Mosque in Japan, the

Ertuğrul Gazi Mosque Ertuğrul Gazi Mosque or Ärtogrul Gazy Mosque is a mosque in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It is a prominent landmark in Ashgabat with its four minarets and a central dome and has a lavish interior decoration with fine stained glass windows. History ...

in Turkmenistan, the Şehitlik Mosque in Berlin, and the

Diyanet Center of America Diyanet Center of America (DCA) is a non-profit organization funded by the Government of Turkey, Turkish government that is based in Seabrook, Maryland, serving the needs of the Muslim community in the Washington metropolitan area. The center hold ...

in Maryland, U.S. Kishwar Rizvi, professor of Islamic art, says "Hilmi Şenalp's mosques are a signature of Turkish identity, exported through the diaspora as reminders of the home nation, and built in foreign lands as diplomatic gifts of brotherhood." She states that the mosques, sponsored by the Turkish government, seems to equate ethnicity with religious identity, and compares him with

Vedat Dalokay Vedat Dalokay (10 November 1927 – 21 March 1991) was a Turkish architect and a former mayor of Ankara. Early life and education Dalokay was born in Elazığ in 1927 to İbrahim Bey and Emine Hanım, in an Alevi Kurdish family who had r ...

, who designed the

Faisal Mosque The Faisal Mosque () is the national mosque of Pakistan, located in the capital city, Islamabad. It is the List of largest mosques, sixth-largest mosque in the world, the largest mosque outside the Middle East, and the largest within South Asia ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. Şenalp says "The mosque is the heart of our civilization, Turkish-Islamic civilization." A SETA Foundation publication says "Beyond doubt, the architectural designs of Şenalp, whether traditional or contemporary, is a deliberate manifestation of a quest for identity of its architect and of its sponsors. This approach reinterprets the traditional forms in such a way that it is related to the past, history and memory." Other projects include the Mimar Sinan Mosque in

Ataşehir Ataşehir is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 423,127 (2022). It is located at the junction of the Otoyol 2, O-2 and Otoyol 4, O-4 motorways on the Anato ...

, Istanbul, one of Erdoğan's residences and a monument commemorating victims of the 2016 Turkish ''coup d'état'' attempt.

References

External links

Muharrem Hilmi Şenalp
at Hassa Architecture {{DEFAULTSORT:Şenalp Living people 1957 births People from Konya 20th-century Turkish architects 21st-century architects Recep Tayyip Erdoğan