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200 year old illustration of Kaaba uncovered at Topkapi Palace

A 19th-century painting of the Kaaba, the sacred site Muslims face in prayer, has been uncovered. (AA Photo)
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A 19th-century painting of the Kaaba, the sacred site Muslims face in prayer, has been uncovered. (AA Photo)
June 05, 2025 05:07 PM GMT+03:00

A 19th-century painting of the Kaaba, the sacred direction of prayer for Muslims, has been uncovered. At the conservation and restoration workshops of the National Palaces Administration, which holds Türkiye’s richest painting collection, work is underway on a rare 200-year-old painting that depicts the Masjid al-Haram in detail.

Scheduled to be fully restored by next month, this special painting documents that the Kaaba is not only a place of worship but also a site of cultural memory meant to be remembered, preserved and passed down to future generations.

A rare 200-year-old painting of the Masjid al-Haram is being restored at the National Palaces workshops, which house Türkiye’s largest painting collection. (AA Photo)
A rare 200-year-old painting of the Masjid al-Haram is being restored at the National Palaces workshops, which house Türkiye’s largest painting collection. (AA Photo)

Deputy President of the National Palaces, Prof. Dr. Abdulhamit Tufekcioglu, shared information with an Anadolu Agency reporter about the restoration work being carried out at the textile workshop in Topkapi Palace.

He noted that during the 17th and 18th centuries, new artistic approaches related to the Kaaba emerged in Ottoman art:

“One example is the depiction of the Kaaba in tiles and panels, and the portrayal of the Kaaba, Medina (al-Madinah al-Munawwarah), and the Haramayn region.

These appear especially in the Hilye-i Saadet—panels describing the physical attributes of the Prophet Muhammad, where, in the upper sections, depictions of Medina and the Kaaba are often included. Sometimes these were done as small images, other times as independent panels. We also see an increase in these depictions as we move toward the 18th century,” he said.

A rare 200-year-old painting of the Masjid al-Haram is being restored at the National Palaces workshops, which house Türkiye’s largest painting collection. (AA Photo)
A rare 200-year-old painting of the Masjid al-Haram is being restored at the National Palaces workshops, which house Türkiye’s largest painting collection. (AA Photo)

Although the painting, believed to have been created in the early 19th century, has never been displayed before and its artist remains unknown, the uniforms of the Ottoman soldiers depicted in it suggest that the work dates back to the reign of Sultan Abdulmecid.

Measuring 103 by 133 centimeters with its frame, the piece serves as a unique historical and cultural source, featuring scenes that reflect observations and depictions of the holy lands from that era.

June 05, 2025 05:07 PM GMT+03:00
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