Zeyrek Çinili Hamam’da Şiir ve Hat Sanatı - Poetry and Calligraphy at Zeyrek Çinili Hamam

The 500-year-old Zeyrek Çinili Hamam in Fatih, Istanbul, a work by Mimar Sinan, reopened in September 2023 after extensive restoration. The opening was accompanied by an exhibition and a book titled "Barbaros's Tiled Bath: A Masterpiece by Sinan," featuring articles focusing on the hammam's history, restoration, architectural features, and the culture of hammams.

Today, the hammam operates as a cultural complex, Zeyrek Çinili Hamam, which includes a museum, library, workshops, and a Byzantine cistern where contemporary art events are held. In February 2024, a series of interviews with the authors of the book was conducted there.

"Poetry and Calligraphy at Zeyrek Çinili Hamam" was developed from an interview conducted by Aykut Şengözer, one of the editors of the first book, with Bora Keskiner, an expert in Islamic art. The book discusses the journey of calligraphy and poetry in the Islamic world, especially based on the poems found on six unique "hammamiye" panels currently displayed at the Zeyrek Çinili Hamam Museum, and the evolution and transformation of the "nasta'liq" script used on these panels, from its origins in Iran to the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the interview, explanations and interpretations of the couplets written from Persian poems are provided.

This publication, which we believe will contribute to the cultural activities of Zeyrek Çinili Hamam, aims to open new topics for discussion and research through the hammam, just like the first book.

The graphic design and print preparation of the book, edited by Aykut Şengözer in Turkish and English, were carried out by PostOfis; the transliteration of the hammamiye panels from Persian was done by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Kanar.