Grand Mosque of Birgi explained

Birgi Grand Mosque (Turkish: Birgi Ulucamii), also called "Aydınoğlu Mehmet Bey Mosque", is a historical mosque in Turkey.

The mosque is in the Birgi town in Ödemiş ilçe (district) of İzmir Province at 38.2567°N 28.0672°W.

Aydınids was an Anatolian beylik (principality) in the 14th century in West Anatolia. Birgi, now a village was the capital of the beylik. The mosque was commissioned by Mehmet, the first ruler of the beylik.

Architecture

The mosque was built in 1312.[1] [2] It is an example of a typical Seljukid mosque. The most notable sections of the mosque are the fine woodworking mimbar which has no metallic nail [3] and the mihrab which is made of dark cyan marble.[4] The lion statue in the south eastern corner of the building is also interesting for statues are rare in Islamic architecture and this statue is a spolia from a Lydian building.

Mimbar gate theft

In 1993 the gate of the mimbar disappeared and it was discovered by a British tourist in British Museum. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism purchased the gate and in 1996 it returned to where it belongs.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Foss, Clive . The Beginnings of the Ottoman Empire . Oxford University Press . 2022 . 978-0-19-263477-1 . 148 . en.
  2. Web site: Kalfazade . Selda . 2012 . ULUCAMİ [Birgi] ]. 2023-02-01 . TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi . tr.
  3. https://www.visitizmir.org/tr/sayfa/inanc/camiler/sehir-cevresindeki-camiler/aydinoglu-mehmet-bey-camisi-birgi-ulu-cami-oedemis Visitİzmir page
  4. https://www.izmirdergisi.com/tr/turizm/inanc-turizmi/1579-beylikler-doneminin-birgi-deki-muhru İzmir periodical