Page 66 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

while a third appears above. The platform around the court-
yard contains four minarets placed in the corners; two domed
mausoleums, known as isa and Musa Kümbedi (Tombs of
Jesus and Moses), appear at the foreground; a circular pond
and an arched structure with scales, symbolizing justice, is
placed in the background. The arcaded building with a min-
bar and mihrab on the very top represents the Aksa Mosque.
Although the paintings are rendered with great charm,
their execution is not as refined as the scenes in other works
describing the pilgrimage sites, such as the Futuh el-Harameyn.
Where the scroll was made is a matter of speculation; it is
possible that the entire work was produced in Mecca, since it
bears the signatures of the guides to the Haram; it is also fea-
sible that the scenes were sketched during the pilgrimage and
finished when Haci Piri returned to Istanbul. 45

22 (above). View of the Mescid-i Haram in Mecca from the Fuiuh
el-Harameyn of Muhyi Lari, c. 1540 (Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, R. 917,
fol. 14a)

23 (right). View of the Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in
Jerusalem from a pilgrimage scroll prepared in 1544/1545 for §ehzade
Mehmed (Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayí Müzesi, H. 1812)

is enclosed by bands of sülüs inscriptions containing Koranic
verses. The entire scroll reads like a filmstrip tracing the route
taken during the pilgrimage, representing all the major mon-
uments and identifying them with tiny notations.
The view of Jerusalem (23) depicts the Dome of the Rock
in the center of a ten-sided courtyard with five entrance
gates. The domed monument, decorated with rumi scrolls,
rises over the famous rock, which has a lamp suspended over
it. Two structures, identified as Mahkeme-i Davud (Court of
David) and Mirac Kümbedi (Tomb of the Miraj, or Prophet
Muhammed's Journey to Heaven), flank the monument,

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