The Kutlubey Camii (also named ‘Ulu Cami’ = Great Mosque) was built in 1429 by the Ottoman commander Kutlubey, in replacement of a Seljuk mosque that had collapsed. It became the most important mosque of the town, from which the yearly pilgrimage caravan to Mecca took off.
This new mosque had to be rebuilt several times, altering the original architecture. The present building dates mainly from the beginning of the 20th century. Several Greek (‘Rum’) architects were involved in the project; this explains most probably the slightly Greek-orthodox silhouette of the mosque (if you make abstraction of the minaret, of course). After the earthquake of 1914, important new repairs were needed (1926); when Atatürk visited Isparta in 1931, the mosque’s minaret was still missing – Atatürk ordered it to be rebuilt.
A last restoration happened in 1990/91, and the surroundings were reorganised in 1993.

On the picture: The mosque seen from the northwest.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: M.Baki Atış, Isparta.