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Dick Osseman | all galleries >> Gaziantep pictures - Turkey >> Gaziantep mosques >> Shey Fethullah Mosque > Gaziantep 8444
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22-MAR-2004

Gaziantep 8444

This is a mosque I liked a lot, so you will see many pictures. It's the Shey Fethullah Mosque. The stonework is great, and the interior is spacious, with lots of height.

I thank Bilgin Ersoy his research on the web, leading to the following information: It was built in 1563, and was an early Ottoman complex, as opposed to the classical institutions seen in (for instance) Istanbul. The medrese (Quran school) no longer exists. The style is considered to be neither Turkish nor Arabic, but Seljuk (I add: Seljuks were a Turkish tribe, so in a way Turkish after all, though not "Ottoman") Bilgin thinks its style has a touch of Syrian (I agree, like him comparing it to other pictures I took and what I found concerning those mosques). It is a unique design, never copied. Let's be glad at least one exists, because it's great. The mosque seems to contain a copy of an early hand-written Quran, according to legend left by Ebu Bekir, who served as first kadi (judge) in the region. Thank you, Bilgin.

The outside front is very good also, though they have put in an ugly glass wall, probably against the cold of winter.

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Bilgin Ersoy 02-Jul-2005 04:53
I found on the folowing info on the web:

1. It was built in 1563 http://www.seyyahamca.com/anadolu.asp?id=165, it's in Turkish).

2. It was an early Ottoman complex (as opposed to the classical complexes seen in Istanbul, for example), but the school (medrese) is no longer there. However, the style of the mosque is not Ottoman. It's not either Arabic (as many other mosques in the city are). The style is more similar to Selchuk (sorry for the spellling), mosques (according tohttp://www.gaziantep.gov.tr/GAZIANTEP.php?page_id=535, and from what I've seen in your pics, I would agree with that ) but with a Syrian touch (the use of polychrome stone, that's my opinion). With these feature, it's a unique structure that hasn't been copied anywhere else in the world, according to the manucipility's webpage.

3. There is a copy of a hand-written Quran by Sheyh Fetfullah http://home.arcor.de/memleket/gaziantep.html), who, according to a legend, descends from the family line of Ebu Bekir, the first caliph http://www.seyyahamca.com/anadolu.asp?id=165) and served as a judge (kadi) in the region.