The Great Mosque of Diyarbakir

It is the oldest mosque in Anatolia. It was created by the Muslim Arabs who dominated Diyarbakir in 639 by converting the largest temple in the city center, Martoma Church, into a mosque. Later, we learn from the inscriptions that it was repaired in 1091 by the order of the Great Seljuk Ruler Meliksah and that it took its present form with repairs and additions many times in different periods. As a result of the fire and earthquake in 1115, all of the arches, columns and decorated stones were destroyed. In addition, there is a sundial made by the famous scholar Al Cezeri, who is accepted as the father of cybernetics. The mosque isa complex of buildings around a courtyard 63 metres long by 30 metres wide. The facade of the courtyard is highly decorated two-story colonnade on the east, south, and west sides, with only one story on the north side. Also included in the complex are the Mesudiye Medresesi (1193) and, not connected to the courtyard, the Zinciriye Medresesi (1189) . The center of the courtyard has an Ottoman (1849) shadirvan (ablution fountain) and a platform for praying. The portal of the mosque is carved with two lions attacking two bulls. The mosque consists of a prayer hall which makes up the entire south wall of the courtyard, three aisles which together are more than twice as wide as they are deep. The high roof of the central hall is made of timber trusses, supported by rows of rectangular stone piers. The Ulu Mosque, which consists of four facades, east, west, north and south, reflects different architectural features on each facade. In each part of the facade, the elegantly embroidered Corinthian columns from the Romans and Byzantines periods, each decorated with different motifs, add a separate richness to the building. The vine leaf figure embroidered on the walls of the interior of the entrance of the mosque reminds the viticulture culture in the region. The mosque is considered by Muslim scholars to be the fifth holiest site in Islam after the Great Mosque of Damascus. It can accommodate up to 5,000 worshippers and is famous for hosting four different Islamic traditions.  (Source: en.wikipedia.org)