Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi

Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi

The Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği is a remarkable architectural wonder that combines a hypostyle mosque with a two-story hospital. The mosque features a hexagonal roof with a pointed tip that covers its prayer niche, which is situated on an ablutions basin at the center of the prayer hall. On both the north and west sides of the mosque, there are grand stone portals with intricate carvings.

Inside the building, five aisles are created by four rows of four piers, which are roofed by exquisitely carved stone vaults. The adjacent hospital, known as Darush-shifa (meaning "house of healing" in Turkish), was established by Turan Melek, the wife of Ahmet Shah, and designed by the architect Hurrem Shah in 1228-1229. Access to the hospital is through an elaborately carved stone portal on the west side, leading to a double-height atrium created by four massive piers supporting a dome with an oculus over a central pool, surrounded by hospital rooms.

Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi

The Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği is a remarkable monument that comprises a grand hypostyle mosque and a two-story hospital. The mosque's prayer niche is located on an ablutions basin in the center of the spacious prayer hall, covered by a hexagonal pointed tip roof. The mosque boasts intricately carved monumental stone portals on both the north and west sides.

Interestingly, the entrances to the mosque display shadows depicting a man praying with his head down, which changes position to suggest the purpose of using the mosque. The design also features two different people wearing distinctive clothing, indicating which door to enter based on their attire. While Islamic design allows tessellations to create a picture-like effect on walls, painting or designing pictures is not permitted. In this building, the architect used tessellations to make a creative escape while adhering to Islamic design principles.

The hospital's entrance is on the west, resembling the mosque's north-facing portal. The stone carving is less dense than the main building and appears unfinished in some areas. The hospital's interior comprises rooms and iwans surrounding an open courtyard with a small pool in the center. A staircase inside the entrance leads to the hospital's second story on the southern side, which served as both a dynastic tomb chamber and an opening to the mosque.

The Divriği Mosque is a unique example of a Seljuk mosque in Anatolia as it doesn't feature a courtyard, colonnades, or an uncovered ablutions basin. Instead, it organizes all religious functions in an enclosed area, perhaps due to the harsh climate. The contiguous hospital, a charitable foundation, adds to the exceptional ensemble, thanks to a princely command. In 1985, the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, cementing its status as a significant historical and architectural masterpiece.