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The astronomical orientation of the historical Grand mosques in Anatolia (Turkey)

DOI:10.1007/s00407-018-0215-1
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Mustafa Yilmaz at Afyon Kocatepe University
Mustafa Yilmaz
Ibrahim Tiryakioglu at Afyon Kocatepe University
Ibrahim Tiryakioglu
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Abstract and Figures

In the ancient civilizations, the sky has been observed in order to understand the motions of the celestial bodies above the horizon. The study of faiths and practices dealing with the sky in the past has been attributed to the sun, the moon, and the prominent stars. The alignment and orientation of constructions to significant celestial objects were a common practice. The orientation was an important component of the religious structure design. Religious buildings often have an intentional orientation to fix the praying direction. In Islam, a sacred direction (Qibla) towards Kaaba located in the courtyard in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca has been used for praying and fulfilling varied ritual tasks. Therefore, the mosques had then to orientate towards the Qibla direction, being designated by a focal niche in the Qibla-wall, wherever they were built on Earth. In this study, the orientations of the historical Grand mosques in Turkey are surveyed with regard to the folk astronomy derived from pre-Islamic Arabian sources, early traditions of the Islamic period, and geometric-trigonometric computation in mathematical astronomy inherited and developed mostly from Greek sources according to the Islamic view of the World geography.
a Earliest known Kaaba-centred 4-sector, geographical scheme from Kitāb al-Masālik w’al- Mamālik (Book of Roads and Kingdoms) by Ibn Khurradadhbih (ca. 820–912) (King 2005a). b A simplified 12-sector scheme of sacred geography from Athar al-Bilad wa-Akhbar al-Ibad (Monument of Places and History of Allah’s Bondsmen) by al-Qazwini (1203–1283) (King 2005a). c 72-sector scheme of sacred geography from a Turkish translation of Ibn al-Wardi’s (1291/1292–1348/1349) Kharīdat al-ʿAjā’ib wa Farīdat al-Gha’rāib (The Pearl of Wonders and the Uniqueness of Strange Things) (King and Lorch 1992)
a Earliest known Kaaba-centred 4-sector, geographical scheme from Kitāb al-Masālik w’al- Mamālik (Book of Roads and Kingdoms) by Ibn Khurradadhbih (ca. 820–912) (King 2005a). b A simplified 12-sector scheme of sacred geography from Athar al-Bilad wa-Akhbar al-Ibad (Monument of Places and History of Allah’s Bondsmen) by al-Qazwini (1203–1283) (King 2005a). c 72-sector scheme of sacred geography from a Turkish translation of Ibn al-Wardi’s (1291/1292–1348/1349) Kharīdat al-ʿAjā’ib wa Farīdat al-Gha’rāib (The Pearl of Wonders and the Uniqueness of Strange Things) (King and Lorch 1992)
… 
Declination-corrected differences (dated 1210–1579) inside the ± 4.3° declination bounds
Declination-corrected differences (dated 1210–1579) inside the ± 4.3° declination bounds
… 
a Alignment of Kaaba implied by the first section of the treatise authored by a Yemeni astronomer, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Farisi (ca. 1290) illustrated in MS Milan Biblioteca Ambrosiana 73 Sup. (Hawkins and King 1982). b Alignment of Kaaba implied by the second section of the treatise authored by a Yemeni astronomer, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Farisi (ca. 1290) illustrated in MS Milan Biblioteca Ambrosiana 73 Sup. (Hawkins and King 1982). c Actual (luni-solar) alignment of Kaaba (Hawkins and King 1982)
a Alignment of Kaaba implied by the first section of the treatise authored by a Yemeni astronomer, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Farisi (ca. 1290) illustrated in MS Milan Biblioteca Ambrosiana 73 Sup. (Hawkins and King 1982). b Alignment of Kaaba implied by the second section of the treatise authored by a Yemeni astronomer, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Farisi (ca. 1290) illustrated in MS Milan Biblioteca Ambrosiana 73 Sup. (Hawkins and King 1982). c Actual (luni-solar) alignment of Kaaba (Hawkins and King 1982)
… 
a Astronomical alignment of Kaaba and its relationship with the winds in medieval Yemeni texts on folk astronomy (King 2017). b A wind scheme recorded by the celebrated philologian Ibn al-A‛rabi (fl. Kufa ca. 825) (King 2005a). c Four-Qibla scheme related with the winds from an anonymous 18th-century Ottoman treatise (King and Lorch 1992)
a Astronomical alignment of Kaaba and its relationship with the winds in medieval Yemeni texts on folk astronomy (King 2017). b A wind scheme recorded by the celebrated philologian Ibn al-A‛rabi (fl. Kufa ca. 825) (King 2005a). c Four-Qibla scheme related with the winds from an anonymous 18th-century Ottoman treatise (King and Lorch 1992)
… 
Qibla direction as a great circle arc between Afyonkarahisar city of Turkey and Kaaba in Mecca over a spherical triangle
+5
Qibla direction as a great circle arc between Afyonkarahisar city of Turkey and Kaaba in Mecca over a spherical triangle
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Archive for History of Exact Sciences (2018) 72:565–590
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00407-018-0215-1
The astronomical orientation of the historical Grand
mosques in Anatolia (Turkey)
Mustafa Yilmaz1·Ibrahim Tiryakioglu1
Received: 15 March 2018 / Published online: 17 September 2018
© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract
In the ancient civilizations, the sky has been observed in order to understand the
motions of the celestial bodies above the horizon. The study of faiths and practices
dealing with the sky in the past has been attributed to the sun, the moon, and the
prominent stars. The alignment and orientation of constructions to significant celes-
tial objects were a common practice. The orientation was an important component of
the religious structure design. Religious buildings often have an intentional orienta-
tion to fix the praying direction. In Islam, a sacred direction (Qibla) towards Kaaba
located in the courtyard in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca has been used for praying and
fulfilling varied ritual tasks. Therefore, the mosques had then to orientate towards the
Qibla direction, being designated by a focal niche in the Qibla-wall, wherever they
were built on Earth. In this study, the orientations of the historical Grand mosques
in Turkey are surveyed with regard to the folk astronomy derived from pre-Islamic
Arabian sources, early traditions of the Islamic period, and geometric-trigonometric
computation in mathematical astronomy inherited and developed mostly from Greek
sources according to the Islamic view of the World geography.
1 Introduction
Ancient civilizations had the benefit of real dark night skies and experienced the full
spectacle of the starry heavens. Our ancestors all around the World would gaze up
at this celestial environment and became intimately familiar with the solar, lunar,
and stellar movements as they revolved across their vision while their sight always
limited by the distant horizon. Throughout various ancient cultures, the movements of
Communicated by George Saliba.
BMustafa Yilmaz
mustafayilmaz@aku.edu.tr
1Department of Geomatics, Faculty of Engineering, Afyon Kocatepe
University, 03200 Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
123
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