Payas Sokullu Mehmet Paşa Külliyesi

If you are going to Adana from Iskenderun. Pavas's (an old Ottoman seaside town) complex, you can see the castle and watchtower China together. This historic places that impressed me most was the inner courtyard of the mosque complex place the fountain in the field. You will also enjoy visiting the bazaar shops in the complex. You will appreciate jewelry.

A beautiful historical place ?

Zero cleaning and maintenance. It pained me to see our beautiful history made by Mimar Sinan like this. Its rear parts are like garbage and how disrespectful it is to use some rooms of this historical building as a cellar…

Many of Sokollu Mehmet Pasha's charitable structures, ranging from the Balkans to the Hejaz, served travelers, merchants and pilgrims on the main routes of the Ottoman lands. Reflecting Sokollu's universal vision, the complexes were lined up along the main roads from Hungary to Mecca and Medina. One of the most important range complexes designed by Mimar Sinan for Sokollu on these roads is the complex in Payas. Sokollu's charity structures formed the permanent stamp of the memories associated with his life and career in the Ottoman geography. These monuments, supported by wealthy foundations, encouraged social and religious institutions, urban and agricultural development, trade and travel. Like the bridges he built in Thrace and Bosnia, foundation monuments located at central crossing points reflect the importance Sokollu gave to communication and connections all over the Ottoman geography. In the buildings designed by Sinan for Sokollu, although the priority of Istanbul is evident from the prestige monuments that Sokollu and his wife built here, the Sokollu Complex built in Payas constitutes an example of the value given to revitalizing a city in Anatolia. In Bakras (Belen) near Payas, located between two mountain passes at the crossroads of Anatolia and Syria (Gülek Pass in the north of Adana and Belen -Bakras-Pass near İskenderun) Mimar Sinan had built a small range complex for Sultan Süleyman. . Therefore, it is not a coincidence that Sokollu's large caravanserais in Payas and Aleppo were built on the same road after this range complex. The fact that it is included in some written works of Mimar Sinan and not included in some of them indicates that the design of the Payas Complex was undoubtedly made by Sinan, but it was not in a relatively tight connection with the construction process. The construction of the complex in Payas, a variant of the innovative plans of the Lüleburgaz and Havsa complexes designed by the architect for Sokollu, with its axial layout and prayer dome, was most likely carried out by the local masters employed in the construction of the grand vizier in Aleppo. The Payas Complex was the result of Sokollu's effort to create a safe range for pilgrims and merchants, with a port combining military and commercial functions. The complex was designed to be built in 1567, before the Cyprus expedition, at a location opposite the Crusader Castle, at the expense of the state treasury. Payas Port, which was revived with a new shipyard for shipbuilding, would play an important role during the Cyprus expedition. After the conquest of Cyprus in 1570-71, the military functions of Payas would be added to the transformation of Aleppo, a city where the commercial structures built by Sokollu, were dedicated to a commercial port. Which is a property belonging to Sokullu The city of Payas, which developed around the complex, where the customs revenues of the pier were dedicated, continued to exist as a lively trade port even after it was overshadowed by the neighboring port of Iskenderun created in the 1590s. With its cross-axis settlement system spreading over a flat land, the range complex in Payas is reminiscent of its counterparts in Lüleburgaz and Havsa. The historical pilgrimage road passes through the complex along the Qibla axis in the north-south direction, and intersects with the east-west axis under the prayer dome rising on four pendentives. The complex is adjacent to the east and west sides of the cross-vaulted arasta, which acts as a backbone. The service block for passengers, extending to the east of the arasta, which has wall fountains next to the north-south gates at both ends, includes the imaret, caravanserais and tabhanes. The buildings on the west side of the complex divided by the east-west axis passing between the entrance doors of the castle and the imaret block are as follows: A mosque and a U-shaped lodge around a fountain courtyard; The primary school and the commercial bath next to it.

It has an important place in the history of Payas district. I had the opportunity to perform the Friday prayer in the complex. It is a structure that should be seen by everyone who goes to Payas.

It's a historic district. The bridge to the Silk Road is still standing. It seems that it was a pilgrimage route during the Ottoman period. The castle, bathhouse and covered bazaar are still standing. The complex of Sokullu Mehmet Pasha and the century-old olive tree are well preserved. The dungeon where Namık Kemal slept remains exactly. The fish we have eaten at the shabby fishermen are very delicious. Don't look for comfort. Immerse yourself in history and sea ambience and enjoy.

Inheritance from our ancestors. There is a historical olive tree in the courtyard of the mosque. The courtyard is clean. You can sit for hours and smell the peace. The spirituality of the mosque is so high... You feel as if your prayers will be accepted right there and there. It is a must see place. May Allah reward him with...

"Today, Payas, a coastal town in the Dörtyol district of Hatay province, turned into a castle settlement since it was a destination on the "holy way" leading to Jerusalem during the Crusaders period. The routes of ancient cultures were reshaped with some corrections, while trying to create a road that would connect Istanbul to the Hejaz via Anatolia, the Eastern Mediterranean and Syria, after Egypt and Hejaz came under Ottoman rule with the Ridaniye expedition the following year. The most important distance between Adana-Aleppo / Damascus of this road, known as "the road of Şam-ı şerif," was determined as Payas, and a new military and commercial base center was restructured here. shipyard, bridge, mills, service places, bringing water from the mountain and burning it with landscaping In about ten years a new city was founded. It is understood from the information in the inscription, endowment record and archive materials that the construction of Payas was started in 1567, the works were completed on a large scale in 982 (1574), and it took its final form in the early 1580s. Nomads were settled in the region together with the works that were built with the personal effort of Sokullu Mehmed Pasha. It was stated that the settlers would be exempted from various taxes for a while, and they were asked to become derbendci in return. Although the number of settled households varies over time, Evliya Çelebi's number of households is XVII. 850 for the middle of the century, and the population of the settlement as 8000. Looking at the archival information, architectural and stylistic features in decoration, it can be said that the design of the complex and other structures was done by Mimar Sinan, and the architects and masters he sent carried out the construction. Today, the complex is 1 km from the city center. away from the Karacami neighborhood, 700 m from the sea. It is located inside on flat land and adjacent to the castle. The complex, which spreads over a very large area, is a comprehensive building complex consisting of arasta, inn, tabhane, soup kitchen, bath, mosque, hankah (madrasah), primary school, two fountains and a bridge. The perfection in the design is remarkable with the abundance of the number and variety of buildings. The east of the arasta is divided into inns, soup kitchens and tabhanes, while the west is divided into a mosque, hankah, primary school and bath. There is complementarity between the structures in terms of functionality. In the complex, which was generally built with stone-weighted materials, the use and decoration of Syrian-influenced double-colored stones can be found from time to time.