On The Acoustics of Süleymaniye Mosque: From Past to Present

Abstract

Süleymaniye Mosque, the central structure of one of the largest mosque complexes of the Ottoman Empire, has been and remains an inspirational edifice for many fields, including architectural acoustics and material science. Comprehensive studies are needed to assess the acoustic conditions of Süleymaniye Mosque in relation to its architectural elements, interior finish materials, and any changes which have occurred in acoustic comfort levels as a result of large-scale repairs the structure has been subjected to in its life time. In-situ acoustic tests were undertaken in 2013, immediately following final restoration work done between 2007-2011. These recent data were then compared to previously-published in-situ measurement data showing acoustic conditions in the Mosque after 1969 and 1980 restorations. Acoustic simulations were performed to represent and discuss activity patterns in the structure when full to capacity. As a result of architectural form-geometry and interior material factors, the acoustic field of the Mosque exhibited the presence of very high reverberation times in all field tests, especially at low frequencies. The Mosque was found to suffer from high background noise levels emanating from the mechanical systems introduced during the 2007-2011 restoration. This study also highlights the necessity for further investigations of the acoustic characteristics of burnt-clay pots and historical lime-based plasters. Both should be investigated further in order to scientifically prove their contribution to the acoustics of the Mosque and help to restore the structure's original acoustic comfort conditions.

Acoustical Impact of Architectonics and Material Features in the Lifespan of Two Monumental Sacred Structures

“…The positioning of sound source is important to assess the acoustics of Süleymaniye Mosque for its traditional use. For acoustical coupling or multi-decay rate investigation, additional source locations including one underneath the main dome (S4) and one underneath side corner dome (S2) were tested [42]. Eight receiver locations (R1-R8) were coupled with four source locations (S1-S4) providing measured source-receiver configurations.…”

“…These plasters are applied at dome, arch, and mostly upper wall surfaces, and compose a very large surface area of approximately 19,000 m 2 . The influence of these plasters on reverberation times would be noteworthy [52].…”

Effects of plaster choice on conservation of the original acoustical character of historical mosques

“…Some studies on mosques focused on acoustic evaluations and comparisons in mosques (Elkhateeb and Ismail, 2007;Elkhateeb, et al, 2015;Ismail, 2013). Most of the studies investigate mosques through historical and modern examples by measurements and acoustical simulations (Sü and Yılmazer, 2008;Sü Gül, et al, 2014;Topaktaş, 2003) Some studies focus on the comparison between the acoustical environment of different sacred spaces (Kleiner, et al, 2010, Wetiz, et al, 2002. Some studies describe the importance of sound in religious buildings as a part of intangible cultural heritage (Grabar, 1983;Ergin, 2008;Suarez, et al, 2015).…”

Acoustical Properties of Contemporary Mosques

“…The muezzin gallery is made for the muezzins to sit on the high platform, give the "tesbihat" sounds, and repeat what the imam is saying. This situation helps to keep the sound source over the audiences, and to stabilize the sound energy in the volume [17]. In the mosques, the feeling of individuality is desired in praying, and the feeling of unity is desired in the reading of the Holy Quran, and hymns, etc.…”

“…Such studies may include single mosque cases [17,20,21,22] or some of them include comparisons of mosques to other mosques [14,16,19,23,24,25,26] or comparisons of mosques to other worship spaces (churches and/or synagogues) [27].…”