Szablyár Péter: Sky-high - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2007)

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■ The diese of Buda. Copperplate by Ham Sibmacher

published in Cologne in 1572—1617 presents us with a view of the dual cities under Turkish rule as if we looked down on them from an aeroplane about to land at Ferihegy Airport. The most conspicuous landmarks are the djamis, mosques, and minarets. Only djamis raised by the Sultan were allowed more minarets than one. It was a universal stipulation that the door opening from the spiral stairs on the balcony circling the tower at the appropriate height should face Mecca. Cornice heights were exactly regulated elsewhere, too. Turkish-owned houses were allowed to rise to a height of 12 pik (about 8.4 metres), while Christians' homes could not be higher than 10 pik.

The ascendancy of Turkish architecture can be traced on woodcuts and engravings made in the period. Hans Sibmacher's 1598 plate shows Buda with eight minarets, while another engraving made by him four years later shows it with nine.

The Turkish traveller Evlia Chelebi ascended one djami's minaret: "It has ninety fine, steep towers, each with a different name and each guarded by its own sentries. Khan Suleyman’s djami was an ornamental church. It has one minaret, which previously served as a belfry. 210 steps lead up to this minaret from where my poor self has seen the planes of Pest and Buda. It is a beautiful minaret made of pure white marble.”

There is a rise in the number of engravings made around 1686; these tend to overemphasise the Oriental nature of the cityscape to boost the morale of the Christian liberators. Pictures made after the re-conquest of Buda no longer

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