User:Eloewenberg/Great Mosque of Diyarbakır

Also known as the Ulu Cami, The Great Mosque of Diyarbakır (Cami-i Kebîr), Diyarbakır Ulu Camii, Mizgefta Mezin a Amedê) was built by the Great Seljuk Sultan Malik-Shah I over an older mosque, and its shape was inspired by the Great Mosque of Damascus.   The mosque is considered by Muslim scholars to be the fifth holiest site in Islam after the Great Mosque of Damascus.  [copied from the Great Mosque of Diyarbakir]

History
Seljuq Sultan Malik-Shah altered the Great Mosque of Diyarbakir as means of bringing the prestige and glory from Damascus, the capital city of Syria, to Diyarbakir in the south of Turkey. The design influenced by the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, used the locally found black basalt rock. The city of Diyarbaki r went through numerous occupations by various conquering empires due to the its prime geographical position and proximity to both neighboring allies and enemies of many of its conquerers.

The mosque is considered by Muslim scholars to be the fifth holiest site in Islam after the Great Mosque of Damascus. It can accommodate up to 5,000 worshippers and is famous for hosting four different Islamic traditions. [copied from Great Mosque of Diyarbakir]

The Great Mosque of Diyarbakir is the oldest and one of the most significant mosques in Mesopotamia. Following the Muslim capture of Diyarbakir in 639 during the reign of the second Caliph Umar, a mosque was built, but the building fell into disuse and ruin sometime later. Even after the conversion of the church into the mosque, it was used by both Muslims and Christians. In 1091 Sultan Malik Shah directed the local Seljuk governor Maidud Davla to rebuild a mosque on the site. Completed in 1092, the mosque is similar to and heavily influenced by the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus (which was repaired by Malik Shah in the twelfth century prior to work in Diyarbakir). The influence of the Damascus mosque brought Syrian architecture and decoration to Anatolia. [copied from Great Mosque of Diyarbakir]

Renovations and Dating the Mosque
The mosque underwent a series of renovations after both an earthquake in 1115 CE, and a fire in 1155 CE. There are dates scripted into the west side of the courtyard which include the dates, 117-1118 CE, and 1124 CE, which are believed to be markers of the renovation dates. Parts of Byzantine remains are incorporated into areas of the Mosque, as well as pieces of spolia, which has Greek carvings found in it. Some of the renovations are additions from the Ottoman Empire in the eighteenth century, which include the mihrab stone in the middle of the qibla wall. There are additional later additions such as the minaret, constructed in 1839, as well as the fountain which can be found in the courtyard in 1849.

While there is no inscription on the mosque which dates back to the original construction, there are inscriptions referencing repairs made, such as the ones mentioned above. The oldest inscription, which is located on the western façade of the prayer hall, shows Malik Shah and is dated to 1091-2 CE. The writings of Mattheos of Urfa, who writes in his work of the fire which greatly damaged the building in 115-16 CE, as well as architectural styling, has lead historians to believe the original structure was established in the first half of the 11th century.

Exterior Architecture
The portal of the mosque is carved with two lions attacking two bulls. The mosque consists of a prayer hall which makes up the entire south wall of the courtyard, three aisles which together are more than twice as wide as they are deep. The high roof of the central hall is made of timber trusses, supported by rows of rectangular stone piers.[copied from Great Mosque of Diyarbakir]

The mosque is actually a complex of buildings around a courtyard 63 m long by 30 m wide. The façade of the courtyard is highly decorated two-story colonnade on the east, south, and west sides, with only one story on the north side. The western façade, rebuilt by the Atabek Inaloglu Abu Mansur İlaldı between 1117 and 1125 following an earthquake and fire in 1115, reuses columns and sculptural moldings from a Roman theater. The architect Hibat Allah al Gurgani was responsible for both that reconstruction and the square minaret rising above the qibla wall. Also included in the complex are the Mesudiye Medresesi (1193) and, not connected to the courtyard, the Zinciriye Medresesi (1189). The center of the courtyard has an Ottoman (1849) shadirvan (ablution fountain) and a platform for praying; both block a clear view through the courtyard. [copied from the Great Mosque of Diyarbakir]

The courtyard of the mosque is bound on both the east and west sides by porticoes. Its floor is paved with basalt blocks, with the physical mosque structure located on the south side of the courtyard. The main entrance of the mosque can be found through a portal on its eastern side. The mosque's eastern and western porticoes are each two stories, and have additions with what many consider to be beautiful stone carving on each of them. The north facade stands shorter than the other two facades, at only one story high. The south facade is distinct from the others, and are divided into three unique sections. Two sections are lateral arms, each being only one story high, and are then broken in the center by a section that rises more than twice the height of the other arms

Many Kufic inscriptions record in detail the rebuilding and additions made to the complex throughout its long history. Lavish carving and decoration of the columns of the courtyard are one of the distinguishing features of the Great Mosque. The western arcade of the courtyard includes the first use of the broken arch. [copied from the Great Mosque of Diyarbakir] The East Maqsura can be found as a two story structure which is located on the eastern portion of the courtyard, and is covered with timber and a tile covered roof.

Interior Archiecture
Within the mosque, there are cylinder columns which are composed of four separate rock types; pre-Tertiary met ophiolite, Eocene limestones, Miocene limestones, and Poli-Quaternary basalts. Despite the damage and reconstruction of the mosque and its complex, the original columns were salvageable and reused during the reconstruction periods of the Great Mosque. Historians were able to identify this through the lengths of the columns existing in segmented forms, as well as varied column lengths, and the use of various materials in the construction of the columns. While the columns were originally thought to be structural, they were later proven to be in place for either partial support, and some experts think even just for decoration.

A pitched roof encloses the prayer hall, and throughout the hall, there are garland and meander motifs throughout the hall. The Masjid, or prayer house, stands at the center, which is found in the form of a wide nave house. Next to the Masjid is the Mesudiya Madrasa. The prayer house lies beneath a gabled section which has two lateral wings on either of its sides. In the center of the main complex is a mihrab, which is five sided and topped with a five-lobed arch decorated with geometric shapes. The main complex's lower side wings have two doorways, each having five windows. The windows are inscribed with floral Kufic calligraphy.

Great Mosque of Damascus Comparison
The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus has a status as one of the earliest mosques of Islam, and to this day it remains an extremely culturally important across the Islamic world to many Muslims and experts of Islamic architecture and culture. Many believe this is part of the explanation for the large number of imitations across the Islamic world. While it is easy to spot the similarities between the two mosques which are very similar, there are some key differences that separate the two. The Great Mosque of Diyarbakir does not have a dome in the center of its prayer hall, which is the case in Damascus. It is interesting to note that over the course of history, Turkey has altered the method of covering mosques to be inclusive of a large dome since the Ottoman dynasty. This is in order to establish a uniquely Turkish style, distinct from the Arabic styling of mosque architecture. The Great Mosque of Diyarbakir also has very thick pillars instead of the round columns which can be found in Syria, and lacks certain ornamentation in its mosaics. The mosque also is enclosed so that there are no opportunities for appearances from external vantage points in the Diyarbakir mosque, as well as an inclusions of a minaret in the center, which is potentially modeled after Christian bell towers and other Christian influences. The proportions of the courtyard and prayer hall, as well as the eastern entrance, and plan of prayer hall with its central nave and lateral arms are all similar to Damascus's mosque.

While the two mosques are often compared, many consider the Mosque of Diyarbakir as a more simple mosque, which certain art historians and other experts feel is more suitable for Islamic architecture. This style of architecture, which was based off of what can still be found in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, can also be found in Aleppo and Hama Syria, and other cities of importance in Islamic culture.