The Sofular Camii (‘Mosque of the Beleavers’) was built in 1485, as the building inscription above the entrance testifies. It is also named ‘Aptullah Paşa Camii’ after his builder, who was Beylerbeyi (= ‘Commander of commanders’, this means: regional governor) at the time. The denomination ‘Beleavers’ refers to the ‘tarikat’ (religious brotherhood) which had its zaviye / darülhadis here. The building has two distinctive parts: when entering, one comes first in a rectangular room (some 15 x 12 m large) with 2 x 2 little rooms on the left and on the right. This was the ‘zaviye’ or ‘darülhadis’. Continuing straight on, climbing some 7 or 8 steps, one enters the prayer hall of the mosque, which is rectangular too (c. 23 x 19½ m) and is covered by an oval dome. The türbe (mausoleum) of Aptullah Paşa stands on the mosque’s courtyard. The Sofular Camii was repaired recently.

Zaviye = a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood and was a place for spiritual retreat and character reformation. These places (‘hanegah’ or ‘zaviye’) often served as hospices for Sufi travelers and Islamic students.
Darülhadis = Academy of Islamic science; from darül (= academy, from Arabic) + hadis (the Islamic science, which studies the words and deeds of the prophet Mohamed).

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: ‘Vakıf Abideler ve eski Eserler’ - Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü, Ankara 1983 ,
Website of ‘amasya-abdulhalim.blogspot.com’ & Wikipedia.