Esmahan Sultan Mosque

Last updated
Esmahan Sultan Mosque
Moscheea Esmahan Sultan
Moscheia-Esmahan-Sultan.jpg
Esmahan Sultan Mosque in 2014
Religion
Affiliation Sunni Islam
Location
LocationOituz Street 1, Mangalia, Constanța County, Romania
Architecture
Type Mosque
Completed1575
Specifications
Minaret(s)1
Materials Carved stone

Esmahan Sultan Mosque (Romanian : Moscheea Esmahan Sultan) is the oldest mosque in Romania. [1]

Contents

Located in Mangalia, Constanța County, it serves a community of 800 Muslim families, most of them of Turkish and Tatar ethnicity. [2]

History

In 1452, when Dobrogea got under the Ottoman domination, and the Turkish, Tatar, Bulgarian, Circassian, Gaguaz, Greek and Jewish peoples became a mixture of religious beliefs, the famous Turkish traveler, Evlia Celebi mentioned, ‘... go to Mangalia, which is the Kaaba Makkah of the wandering and poor people.'' [3]

Esmehan Sultan Mosque was constructed in 1575 by its namesake, Ismihan, the daughter of Ottoman Sultan Selim II and Nurbanu Sultan, and wife of Ottoman Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha. [4]

It was renovated in the 1990s and includes a graveyard with 300-year-old tombstones. [5]

Structure

The mosque was constructed with cut stone rescued from the Callatis ruins by a team of Turkish craftsmen. [5] The stone blocks were glued together without the use of any binder, but merely with cast steel staples put in holes drilled in the stone. Oak props are installed at the Esmahan Sultan Mosque's entryway. [1] The Minbar (pulpit), a place of prayer arranged as a balcony with stairs from where the imam, the Muslim priest speaks on and every feast day, may be situated on the wall opposite the mosque entrance (another term for places of Muslim worship). [6] The mihrab, or blind window, and a Mecca-oriented niche are positioned on the left side of the Minbar. It is a type of shrine where the Imam performs religious services every day. [7] The inside is devoid of cult paintings and other ornamental elements. [2] The ceiling is adorned with beautiful woodwork and exquisite craftsmanship that grabs the attention of all visitors. [5] I [1] t should be noticed that the women's prayer areas are divided from the rest of the room by a modest wooden barrier. [8] The terrace at the summit of the minaret (from where the Imam used to issue the call to prayer) may be reached by spiral staircases.The porch pillars and wooden railings give the building a distinctive appearance on the outside. [7] A fountain built of stone from an old tomb may be found inside the worship space. In addition, the mosque is flanked by a cemetery as precious as the monument itself, which contains Muslim tombs dating back more than 300 years. Both the mosque and the cemetery are listed as Historical Monuments in Romania. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Mosque, Istanbul</span> 17th-century mosque in Turkey

The Blue Mosque, officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed between 1609 and 1617 during the rule of Ahmed I and remains a functioning mosque today. It also attracts a large number of tourists and is one of the most iconic and popular monuments of Ottoman architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minbar</span> Pulpit in a mosque

A minbar is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam stands to deliver sermons. It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and lectures the congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangalia</span> Municipality in Constanța, Romania

Mangalia, ancient Callatis, is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prophet's Mosque</span> Historic mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia

The Prophet's Mosque is the second mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Medina, after the Quba Mosque, as well as the second largest mosque and holiest site in Islam, after the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, in the Saudi region of the Hejaz. The mosque is located at the heart of Medina, and is a major site of pilgrimage that falls under the purview of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selimiye Mosque, Edirne</span> Mosque in Edirne, Turkey

The Selimiye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque, located in the city of Edirne, Turkey. It was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1575. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the highest achievements of Islamic architecture as a whole and Ottoman architecture in particular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ortaköy Mosque</span> Mosque in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey

Ortaköy Mosque, formally the Büyük Mecidiye Camii in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey, is a mosque situated at the waterside of the Ortaköy pier square, one of the most popular locations on the Bosphorus. It was commissioned by the Ottoman sultan Abdülmecid I and its construction was completed around 1854 or 1856.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyüp Sultan Mosque</span> Mosque in Eyüp, Istanbul, Turkey

The Eyüp Sultan Mosque is a mosque in Eyüp district of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque complex includes a mausoleum marking the spot where Ebu Eyüp el-Ansari, the standard-bearer and companion of the prophet Muhammad, is said to have been buried. On a much older site, the present building dates from the beginning of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Romania</span>

Islam in Romania is followed by only 0.4 percent of the population, but has 700 years of tradition in Northern Dobruja, a region on the Black Sea coast which was part of the Ottoman Empire for almost five centuries. In present-day Romania, most adherents to Islam belong to the Tatar and Turkish ethnic communities and follow the Sunni doctrine. The Islamic religion is one of the 18 rites awarded state recognition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeni Valide Mosque</span> Mosque in Üsküdar, Istanbul, Turkey

The Yeni Valide Mosque is an 18th-century Ottoman mosque in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Turkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Mosque of Constanța</span>

The Grand Mosque of Constanța, originally known as the Carol I Mosque, is a mosque in Constanța, Romania. It is listed as an historic monument by the Romanian National Institute of Historical Monuments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque, Kadırga</span> 16th century Turkish mosque

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque in the Kadırga neighborhood in Fatih district, Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned jointly by the grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and his wife İsmihan Sultan. It was designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan and completed in 1571/2. The mosque is noted for the fine quality of the Iznik tiles that decorate the interior walls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Mosque of Aleppo</span> Mosque in Aleppo, Syria

The Great Mosque of Aleppo is the largest and one of the oldest mosques in the city of Aleppo, Syria. It is located in al-Jalloum district of the Ancient City of Aleppo, a World Heritage Site, near the entrance to Al-Madina Souq. The mosque is purportedly home to the remains of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, both of whom are revered in Islam and Christianity. It was built in the beginning of the 8th century CE. However, the current building dates back to the 11th through 14th centuries. The minaret in the mosque was built in 1090, and was destroyed during fighting in the Syrian Civil War in April 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuruosmaniye Mosque</span> Mosque in Çemberlitaş, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey

The Nuruosmaniye Mosque is an 18th-century Ottoman mosque located in the Çemberlitaş neighbourhood of Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey, which was inscribed in the Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selimiye Mosque, Üsküdar</span> Mosque in Üsküdar, Istanbul, Turkey

The Selimiye Mosque is a mosque in the district of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey, near the Selimiye Barracks. It was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Selim III and built between 1801 and 1805.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altunizade Mosque</span> Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey

Altunizade Mosque, also known as İsmail Zühtü Pasha Mosque is a 19th-century Ottoman mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque, Büyükçekmece</span> 16th century Turkish mosque

The Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque, also known as the Köprübaşı (Bridgehead) Mosque, is the ruin of a 16th-century Ottoman mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakovalı Hasan Paşa Mosque</span> Mosque in Pécs, Baranya, Hungary

The Yakovalı Hasan Paşa Mosque is an early 17th-century mosque in Pécs, southern Hungary. It was constructed when the region was part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, together with the main mosque of Pécs, the Mosque of Pasha Qasim. It was named after the local government official who commissioned the mosque, Yakovalı Hasan Paşa, or Hasan Pasha of Yakova. It is thus one of the oldest mosques existing in Hungary today, and is considered to be the most intact mosque to have survived from the Ottoman era. The mosque is still active as a Muslim place of worship, and also houses a small exhibition centre for Turkish handicraft and historical artifacts documenting Hungary's Ottoman past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classical Ottoman architecture</span> Ottoman architectural style of the 16th and 17th centuries

Classical Ottoman architecture is a period in Ottoman architecture generally including the 16th and 17th centuries. The period is most strongly associated with the works of Mimar Sinan, who was Chief Court Architect under three sultans between 1538 and 1588. The start of the period also coincided with the long reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, which is recognized as the apogee of Ottoman political and cultural development, with extensive patronage in art and architecture by the sultan, his family, and his high-ranking officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayazma Mosque</span> Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey

The Ayazma Mosque is a mosque in the neighbourhood of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey. It stands on a hillside overlooking the Bosphorus. It was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III and built between 1757 and 1761. It is an example of the Ottoman Baroque style that was prevalent in the 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murat Reis Mosque</span> Historical mosque in Rhodes, Greece

The Murat Reis Mosque is a historical Ottoman-era mosque in the Aegean island of Rhodes, in Greece. Named in honour of Murat Reis the Elder, an important admiral of the Ottoman Navy, the mosque still stands, it is in need of restoration and is not open for worship, similar to the majority of Ottoman mosques found in Rhodes. It is notable for its unusual minaret design, a post-Ottoman addition that replaced the original structure when the island was under Italian administration after the Italo-Turkish War.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Esmahan Sultan Mosque in Mangalia, Romania | Wander". www.wander.am. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  2. 1 2 Kaplan, Robert D. (2016-02-09). In Europe's Shadow: Two Cold Wars and a Thirty-Year Journey Through Romania and Beyond. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-8129-9682-1.
  3. 1 2 "Hidden Romania: The best place to find unknown Ottoman Empire landmarks". Arab News. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  4. Kuban, Doğan (1968). "An Ottoman Building Complex of the Sixteenth Century: The Sokollu Mosque and Its Dependencies in Istanbul". Ars Orientalis. 7: 19–39. ISSN   0571-1371. JSTOR   4629238.
  5. 1 2 3 "The Esmahan Sultan Mosque - tourist spots Mangalia". www.litoralulromanesc.ro. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  6. "Mosque - ESMAHAN SULTAN MOSQUE - Mangalia". www.petitfute.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  7. 1 2 ""The Esma-Han Sultan" Mosque". ebridge.info. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  8. Suliman, S.; Gramescu, A. M.; Gelmambet, S. (2021). "Modelling the structure of Carol I Mosque Minaret taken into account the seismic evaluation". IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 1138: 012040. doi: 10.1088/1757-899x/1138/1/012040 . S2CID   235285201.

43°48′37″N28°34′59″E / 43.81028°N 28.58306°E / 43.81028; 28.58306