Grand Mosque of Aksaray (Ulu Cami)

The Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) rises on a mound in the centre of Aksaray and is also known as the Karamanoğlu Mosque. According to its inscription it was commissioned in 1408–1409 by Mehmed II of Karaman and built by the architect Mehmed Firuz Bey.

It is one of the best examples of the artistic continuity between the Anatolian Seljuks and the Karamanid beylik: the carved portal keeps the Seljuk tradition alive, while the pointed arches and stone piers inside show the sober architecture of the beylik period. Together with the Zinciriye Madrasa, it is the closest historic stop to Neva Apart.

History

Until the 1470s Aksaray was a frontier city that changed hands between the Karamanids and the Ottomans. The Grand Mosque is the largest building of that era: Mehmed II of Karaman began it, and it was extensively repaired under his son İbrahim Bey in 1482–1483. The present minaret was added separately in 1925.

Byzantine floor mosaics were discovered beneath the mosque while the minaret was being built, suggesting that it stands on an older layer of the city known in Roman and Byzantine times as Koloneia.

The 17th-century traveller Evliya Çelebi, who called it the “Mosque of İbrahim Bey of Karaman”, described a masonry building with a dome on four arches, twelve columns and two finely worked doors, with its round minaret standing apart from the mosque.

Architecture and what to see

The mosque has a nearly square, horizontally rectangular plan built mainly of cut stone. The entrance is shifted to the west and set in an iwan; the east side opens towards the old city walls, and the outer walls are braced by sturdy buttresses.

The west portal

Decorated with the geometric and floral motifs typical of the Anatolian beyliks, the west portal is the most photographed part of the mosque. Its carving can be compared with the portal of the nearby Zinciriye Madrasa, which follows the same tradition.

Prayer hall, minbar and mihrab

The prayer hall runs north–south, and the dome in front of the mihrab rests on Turkish triangles. The pointed arches give the interior a tall, airy feel. The mihrab is made of plaster; Evliya Çelebi described the minbar and the muezzins’ gallery as “plain and beautiful”. The northern part of the building has two storeys, and the interior has largely kept its original character.

Getting there from Neva Apart

Neva Apart is in Aksaray city centre, a few minutes’ walk from the Zinciriye Madrasa and the Grand Mosque; the distances below are measured from our aparthotel.

The Grand Mosque is about 400 metres away — a 5-minute walk along Kalealtı Caddesi. Parking in the centre is limited, so walking is the easiest option.

Tips for your visit

This is a working mosque: visit outside prayer times, wear clothing that covers shoulders and knees, and women should bring a headscarf. The courtyard is very busy around Friday noon prayers.

Combine it with the Zinciriye Madrasa, the Crooked Minaret and Umbrella Street for a half-day walk through old Aksaray. For the bigger picture, start with our history of Aksaray guide.

Other places nearby

• Zinciriye Madrasa – Built in 1336 under the Karamanids, with a four-iwan courtyard plan and castle-like crenellated walls — the only historic madrasa still standing in Aksaray.
• Crooked Minaret (Eğri Minare) – A red-brick Seljuk minaret built under Sultan Alaeddin Kayqubad I (1221–1237) whose pronounced lean made it the symbol of Aksaray.
• Umbrella Street & City-Centre Cafés – Aksaray’s pedestrian bazaar street shaded by colourful umbrellas, the Clock Tower area and its cafés — a few minutes’ walk from Neva Apart.
• Tomb of Somuncu Baba – The Aksaray tomb of Sheikh Hamid-i Veli, known as Somuncu Baba (1331–1412) — the Sufi master of Hacı Bayram-ı Veli.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Grand Mosque of Aksaray
• Wikipedia – Aksaray

Image credits

• The Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami) in Aksaray city centre – NuriCanY, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
• Stone piers, pointed arches and the wooden minbar inside Aksaray Grand Mosque – Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
• The ashlar walls, courtyard and ablution fountain of Aksaray Grand Mosque – Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons