Representation of Power: The Friday Prayer Ceremony in the Reign Of Sultan Abdulhamid II, and Its Urban and Architectural Reflections

Ottoman Ceremonies organized by the palace are efficient instruments for analysing the social and ideological background of the era since they were the agents of the sultan to display his power to his subjects and foreign officials and to communicate with the public. Therefore, questioning the alteration in the ceremonies provides a more comprehensive understanding of the developments in society and the state. In thirty-three years of the oppressive reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876-1909), ceremonials evolved into propaganda instruments, like never seen before in the times of his predecessors. Since the public rarely caught a glimpse of the sultan, Abdülhamid invented new celebrations in the Ottoman ceremonial repertoire to communicate with and to show his power to the public and the foreign representatives. This study examines how Abdülhamid II utilized ceremonials to legitimize and impose his image as sultan, using them as propaganda devices without being seen and how this attitude was reflected in both architectural and urban scale through one of the most significant ceremonies of the era – Friday prayer (Cuma Selamlığı). Urban procession through the capital Istanbul every Friday, the palace buildings, - Set/Seyir Kiosk for the foreign audience, Grand Royal Gate, Saltanat Kapısı, where the sultan made his grandiose entrance - and Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque were the instruments of this performance. Among all of these constituents, Hamidiye Mosque since it was the most fundamental architectural component of the ceremony, will be thoroughly scrutinized in the study.