Turkey’s PM Starts Hunt for Missing Skull of Ottoman Era Architect

Turkey’s prime minister has initiated a criminal probe into last century’s mysterious disappearance of the skull of Mimar Sinan, a celebrated Ottoman era architect responsible for many of the country’s most spectacular buildings and monuments.

Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ; medeniyet âlemine kazandırdığı eserlerle Müslüman-Türk’ün dehâsını ortaya koyan büyük dâhi. pic.twitter.com/zwPSPrHfgn

— Osmanlı Devleti ☪ (@OsmanliBeyligi) November 4, 2013

​​Sinan, who lived in the 16 century, was a chief Ottoman architect at a time when the empire was on the rise, serving sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III. The draftsman created over 300 major objects globally, including such renowned masterpieces of architecture as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Turkey and the Taj Mahal in India.

Yer: İstanbul, Türkiye
Mimar: Koca Mi’mâr Sinân Âğâ
İnşaat tarihi: 1550 – 1557
Kısaca: Süleymaniye Camii,#Turkcell pic.twitter.com/Ub85wrC7nh

— Nazar_Ber_Kadem (@Gunahkar_Sofi) August 26, 2015

​Sinan was acknowledged a genius within his lifetime. After his death in 1588, he was buried in a tomb he built near Istanbul's Suleiman Mosque.

#mimarsinan
Osmanlı baş mimarı
Koca Mi’mâr Sinân Âğâ…#selimiye #külsan #külsanhome #edirne #camii #osmanlı #ev pic.twitter.com/HCmtl09hT7

— külsanhome (@kulsanhome) March 29, 2016

In 1935, over a decade after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, a group of Turkish historians removed the architect’s skull, ostensibly for research. The scholars stated aim was to measure the skull to estimate Sinan’s brain capacity. According to the Turkish Haberler newspaper, the procedure was normal at the time, as racist views were dominant worldwide.

Following the eugenics experiments, the skull disappeared without trace.

Speaking during a visit to Suleiman Mosque on Saturday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the theft an insult to the memory of a national genius.

"If such a barbarous act happened in this land, there is no way we can approach his tomb and pay our respects,” Davutoglu claimed, adding that modern-day architects betray the heritage of Sinan, erecting "monstrous" buildings that make the looks of Istanbul impure.

Davutoglu added that everything must be done to locate and return the missing object.

“We will utilize all our tools, including DNA analysis, to find and return the skull to put an end to this blight to his memory."