Reading Sinan Architecture Through Current Quarries and Similarities in Sinan's Homeland

The aim of this study is to investigate the stone quarries, stonemasonry, and ground floor balancing practices in Architect Sinan's hometown and to examine the contribution of his hometown to Sinan's architecture. As a method of research, the nowadays Ağırnas and Turan quarries were documented on site, and interviews were conducted with experts working in the quarries using oral history methods. The process that Ağırnas and Turan stones, which have different characteristics and are extracted from quarries in different parts of the valley, undergo from their raw state in the quarry to the stone sizes commonly used today is presented in a photographic comparison table. Similarities between the stone staircase craftsmanship in Sinan's buildings and traditional houses in Kayseri and its surroundings have been documented and compared with photographs taken on site. Sinan applied the floor leveling technique he knew from Sinan Evi in his hometown at the Rüstem Pasha Mosque.