AN ELEGANT WRITING STYLE IN OTTOMAN ARCHITECTURE: TA’LİK

OSMANLI MİMARİSİNDE ZARİF BİR YAZI: TA’LİK

Abstract

The art of calligraphy is considered one of the most beautiful forms of Arabic writing, with a history shaped through a master-student tradition passed down over time. Hüsn-i hat refers to beautiful styles of writing that have been developed through the years. The first style of writing, maqili, began in Saudi Arabia and was further developed in Iran, reaching its peak in the Ottoman Empire. Another style that emerged in Iran, ta’lik, was used by calligraphers during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmed in the Ottoman Empire. This style developed from rika’ and tevki’ styles, meaning “to be hanged/suspended”. Ta’lik writing has an elegant appearance due to its fine lines, the slightly slanted, and seemingly flying writing of the letters, and lacks intricate composition. Examples of celi ta’lik writing can be seen in many places, such as mosques, fountains, tombstones, target/range stones (stone steles on which shooting competitors’ names, the longest distances, and dates were noted), and plates during the Ottoman Empire, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. The celi ta’lik, characterized by especially large letters, was the most widely used form of calligraphy along with the sülüs in plates and inscriptions in the Ottoman 19th century. Written as a plain script in inscriptions, ta’lik was also used as curved or circular forms in certain inscriptions. Those who wrote ta’lik are called nuşi, and the texts they wrote are called inşa. The most prominent representative of this writing style in the Ottoman Empire was Yesari Mehmet Esat Efendi, with his student, Yesarizade Mustafa İzzet Efendi, also becoming a prominent figure in the field. The students trained by Yesaridezade Mustafa İzzet Efendi engraved the most beautiful examples of ta’lik, writing on many buildings and stones throughout Istanbul. This study examines the use of ta’lik writing, especially looking at the examples in Istanbul.