Ramazanoğlu Hall is the old government residence of the

Ramadanids The Ramadanid Emirate ( Modern Turkish: ''Ramazanoğulları Beyliği'') was a Turkish autonomous administration and a ''de facto'' independent emirate that existed from 1352 to 1608 in Cilicia, taking over the rule of the region from the Armeni ...

located in

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

. Currently used as a cultural center, it is one of the oldest examples of a mansion in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Located southeast of the Ulu Camii, it was the

Harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

of the Ramadanid family and besides being a fine expression of modesty of the emirate, it is also an important work resembling the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

mansions of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

History

According to the inscription on the south gate, Haremlik was completed by Halil Bey in the month of

Sha'aban Shaʽban ( ') is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is called the month of 'separation', as the word means 'to disperse' or 'to separate' because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water. The fifteenth night of this month ...

year 900 (April, 1495). Nevertheless, this date does not represent the completion date of the entire building. The section completed in 1495 was an attachment to another structure on the north side which was built earlier. Next to the Harem, there used to stand the

Selamlık The Selamlik, Selamluk or Sélamlique (, {{langx, tr, Selamlık) was the portion of an Ottoman palace or house reserved for men. It was also the portion of the household where guests might be received and entertained, similar to the '' andron'' o ...

, where the government offices were located. The Selamlık was suffered from dilapidation and the only remains today are the section with the dome and the section thought to be the

hamam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the Islamic culture, culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

. During the

Ottoman Era The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

, the hall served as a residence for number of

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

s visiting Adana, including

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 ...

and

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

. The hall had an extensive renovation in 1983. During the

1998 Adana–Ceyhan earthquake The 1998 Adana–Ceyhan earthquake occurred at 16:55 local time on 27 June with a moment magnitude of 6.3 and a maximum intensity of IX (''Destructive'') on the European macroseismic scale. The total economic loss was estimated at US$1 billion. ...

, the building was damaged and was restored by the General Directorate of the Foundations thereafter. The operation of the hall was then given to

Çukurova University Çukurova University () is a public research university located in Adana, Turkey. The university features sixteen faculties, three colleges, seven vocational colleges, three institutes, and twenty-six research and application centers. Its campus i ...

to be converted into a cultural center and on June 3, 2009, the hall opened to the public; it currently hosts conferences, meetings and concerts.

Architecture

Ramazanoğlu Hall has a modest appearance with its architecture built of hewn stone on the lower level and brick on the upper. It is a three-story building in a rectangular shape (16x10.5m), made up of ground floor, mezzanine and an upper floor. The building also includes a courtyard placed to the east end of the L-shaped ground floor plan. On the south section of the ground floor, there is the stony place which leads to the stairs to the upper floors and two rooms on both sides of the stony place. The hallway is in the middle and on the north section, there is the groin vault room and a door opening to a cradle vault corridor. This north section was most likely the

of the mansion with spiral stairs going up. The mezzanine floor is made up of a kitchen, two rooms and hallway in between. On the upper floor, there is the bathing cubicle west of the landing and a large bedroom at the south end. There are no ornaments in the mansion except a verse of the

Koran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

on the west wall of the west large room, "Küllema dahele aleyha Zekerriyya'l-mihrabe", which is often seen on the

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

s. The calligraphy, which was removed in the last restoration, indicates that this room was used as the

masjid A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were simple p ...

of the hall.

References and notes

External links

Start of series of pictures of the hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramazanoglu Hall Landmarks in Adana Culture in Adana Buildings and structures in Adana Ramazanoğlu