İsa Bey Mosque

The İsa Bey Mosque (Template:Langx), constructed in 1374–75,<ref>The Evolution of Architectural Form in Turkish Mosques (1300-1700), Suut Kemal Yetkin, Studia Islamica, No. 11 (1959), 76-77.</ref> is one of the oldest and most impressive works of architectural art remaining from the Anatolian beyliks. The mosque is situated on the outskirts of the Ayasluğ Hills at Selçuk, İzmir.

History

It was built by the Syrian architect, 'Ali b. Mushaimish al-Dimashqi, in honor of the Aydinid Isa Bey.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The plans for the mosque are based on the Great Mosque of Damascus.<ref name="BloomBlair2009">Template:Cite book</ref>

By 1829, the mosque was in ruins and by 1842 the minaret had fallen down.<ref>Michael Greenhalgh, From the Romans to the Railways: The Fate of Antiquities in Asia Minor, (Brill, 2013), 90.</ref> In the 19th century, it was also used as a caravanserai. There is an octagonal Seljuk türbe made of stone and bricks, with a pyramid shaped roof, right next to the mosque.

Architecture

The mosque has two main entrances, to the east and to the west and contains a fountain court.<ref name="BloomBlair2009"/> The western wall has inscriptions and geometric shapes engraved. These walls are covered with marble, whereas the façades on the remaining sides are made of cut stone. It is built asymmetrically on a Template:Convert base. The rims of its domes, with diameters of Template:Convert and Template:Convert, are decorated with İznik (Nicaea) tiles. Twelve round columns stand inside its courtyard encircled with porches. Its brick minaret is built on an octagonal base, and the upper part from the balcony is ruined. The mosque had another minaret on the west, which is totally destroyed now. The mihrab (niche or altar) was moved to another mosque, due to a door opened there.

Gallery

• Isa Bey Mosque Exterior view
  Isa Bey Mosque Exterior view
• Entrance of the courtyard
  Entrance of the courtyard
• Entrance of the mosque
  Entrance of the mosque
• Interior of the mosque
  Interior of the mosque
• Plan
  Plan

See also

• Aydinid dynasty
• Anatolian beyliks
• Islamic architecture
• Islamic art
• List of mosques
• Timeline of Islamic history
• List of Turkish Grand Mosques

References

• Bayrak, Orhan M. (1994). p. 407, Türkiye Tarihi Yerler Rehberi (expanded 3rd edition). İnkılâp Kitabevi. Template:ISBN.

External links

• History and architecture of İsabey Mosque with many photos
• Images of the İsabey Mosque
• Over 30 pictures of the mosque

• A visit to the Isa Bey Mosque - Photos included