The Aksaray Grand Mosque, also known as the Ulu Mosque, is the mosque located in the city center of

Aksaray Aksaray () is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Aksaray Province and Aksaray District.

Karamanoğlu The Karamanids ( or ), also known as the Emirate of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman (), was a Turkish Anatolian beylik (principality) of Salur tribe origin, descended from Oghuz Turks, centered in South-Central Anatolia around the present-day ...

Mosque. It was commissioned by

Mehmet I of Karaman Shams al-Dīn Meḥmed I Beg (; died 20 June 1277 or 30 May 1279) was Beg of the Ḳarāmān from 1263 until his death. Ḳarāmān was a Turkish principality in Anatolia in the 13th century. His father was Karaman Bey. Early life Meḥmed was ...

and built between 1408 and 1409.

History

The Aksaray Grand Mosque was built by the

Anatolian Seljuks The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. T ...

in 1408-1409 and commissioned by

. Floor

mosaics A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

dating back to the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

period were discovered underneath the Grand Mosque during the construction of the minaret. Although not officially confirmed, it is speculated that the Aksaray Grand Mosque stands on the much older settlement of a former temple or

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

or place of

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...

. It is believed that the temple was built on or next to a Byzantine palace with mosaics. Nearby the mosque was the historical

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

Gallery

Image:Aksaray Ulu Cami 3095.jpg, Interior of the Aksaray Grand Mosque Image:Aksaray Ulu Cami 3096.jpg, Interior of the Aksaray Grand Mosque Image:Aksaray Ulu Cami 3098.jpg, Interior of the Aksaray Grand Mosque

References

Sources

Investıgatıon of Archıtectural of Aksaray Grand Mosque and Structural Deterıoratıon Factors
* *
District governor's official website

External links

{{commons category
Information about Aksaray Grand Mosque

Picture gallery of the mosque
1408 establishments Aksaray Ottoman mosques in Turkey Seljuk mosques in Turkey