Ermenek Grand Mosque

Ermenek Grand Mosque
Ermenek Ulucamii
Interior view showing the three naves
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Location
LocationErmenek, Karaman Province, Turkey
Architecture
StyleKaramanid
Funded byMahmud Bey
Date established1302AD (702AH)

Ermenek Grand Mosque (Turkish: Ermenek Ulucamii) is located on the outskirts of Ermenek Castle on an outcrop that overlooks the city of Ermenek. The mosque was built by Mahmud Bey of the Karamanids in 1302AD (702AH), as inscribed in Sülüs-style calligraphy on the original door wings between the antechamber and the prayer hall.[1]

These 14th-century Karamind-era wooden door wings have since been removed for preservation and posterity and are exhibited at the Sahip Ata Museum in Konya.[2]

From an architectural perspective, the mosque consists of a rectangular hypostyle (pillar-supported) prayer hall with three transverse arched naves extending from west to east,[1] and is the first example of a Turkish mosque with a narthex gallery, a form of antechamber, between the outer doors and the prayer hall. The structure is unusual in not having its main entrance and narthex to the north of the mosque (opposite the mihrab to the south), but to its west.[3]

Several times throughout its history the mosque was altered through renovations and repair work, including expansion works in 950AD, repairs in 1125AD and 1324AD, and other changes and repairs during the Ottoman period. The mosque also now has a wooden minaret that was added later.[1]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ermenek Grand Mosque.
  • Front view of the mosque and its narthex
    Front view of the mosque and its narthex
  • Calligraphy on a door within the mosque
    Calligraphy on a door within the mosque
  • Detail on the wooden minbar
    Detail on the wooden minbar
  • A prayer alcover or mihrab
    A prayer alcover or mihrab

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Cakmak, Ahmet (2012). "Ermenek Grand Mosque". Islam Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Vol. 42. Istanbul: Turkish Diyanet Foundation. pp. 100–101.
  2. ^ Başbay, Başak (2021). "Ermenek Grand Mosque Wooden Door Wings: an example of wooden works exhibited in the Sahip Ata Museum in Konya". Lale. 2 (3): 56–61.
  3. ^ Yetkin, Suut Kemal (1959). "The Evolution of Architectural Form in Turkish Mosques (1300-1700)". Studia Islamica. 11 (11). Brill: 73–91. doi:10.2307/1595151. JSTOR 1595151.