[THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK OF ISLAMIC BUILDINGS IN CONSTANTINOPLE] Hadikatû'-l cevâmî. 2 volumes set. [= Hadiqatul-gewami = The garden of the mosques].

Very Good Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928) In contemporary Ottoman quarter burgundy leather bdg. with red boards. Gilt lettering of the title with some decorative elements and four raised bands to the spine. Large roy. 8vo. (25 x 16 cm). In Ottoman script. 2 volumes set: (310 p.; 264 p). Hadikatû'-l cevâmî. 2 volumes set. [= Hadiqatul-gewami = The garden of the mosques]. Occasionally foxing on boards, slight stains on paper. Otherwise a very good copy. First edition of this rare monumental two-volume set in which an inventory is kept of almost all architectural buildings such as mosques, masjids, fountains, schools, and lodges in Ottoman Istanbul and its surroundings, built since Sultan Mehmet II up to 1768, in a traveler style, by Ayvansarayî, who was hafiz and janissary sekban who lived in the 18th century. "This excellent book has an extremely important place in the literature not only in terms of architectural works and topography but also as a historical source of Constantinople". (Hammer). Long recognized by Turkish scholars as a unique source of Istanbul's architecture and urban form, the text, which was started in 1182 (1768-69) and completed in 1195/1780 and revised and enlarged between 1248/1832-33 and 1253/1838 by Ali Sati, son of Mahmud Efendi, one of the judges of Medina, contains separate descriptions of each of Istanbul's more than 800 mosques, plus accounts of its madrasahs, tombs, tekkes and other monuments. The annotations place each of these buildings within the city's urban plan and provide biographical information about the patrons, architects, and other personalities mentioned in the text. Ayvansarayi's original text, which survives in a number of manuscript copies, was enlarged in the 1830s by Ali Sati Efendi, whose reworking was published in print in 1865 and has thus become the best-known version of the Hadika. (Crane). The author, who first visited the mosques and masjids inside the city walls in a topographic order, then examined the ones outside the city walls, then discussed Eyüp, Galata, both sides of the Bosphorus, Üsküdar (Scutari), Kadiköy (Khalkedon) mosques and masjids. After giving the name of the building in each article, if a mosque was transformed from the church, he noted this issue and recorded the name of the person who had it built. If known, he also indicates where this person's grave is located. Detailed info about the restoration of the architectural building has been restored. And he gives detailed information on additional facilities such as a public fountain, sebil, school, madrasah, and in some cases the people who lie in its burial ground, with brief information about the foundation of this charitable building. Hegira 1281 = Gregorian 1865. Özege 6565.; Thirteen copies in the US libraries according to the OCLC.