Author
Builder of the pulpit: Muzaffar al-Din bin Abdul Wahid.
Author Original
باني المنبر مظفر الدين بن عبد الواحد
Publication Date
712 / 1312-1333 (Al-Minbar 722 / 1322-1323)
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;tr;Mon01;12;ar
Library Location
Birgi, Izmir, Türkiye
Date
712 / 1312-1333 (Al-Minbar 722 / 1322-1323)
Notes
Mehmed Bey, the founder of the Aydinoglu Emirate, conquered Birgi in 707/1308 and made it his capital. He ordered the construction of the Great Mosque in the year 712 / 1312 - 1313. Muhammadbay died in 735 / 1335, and was buried in the courtyard of the mosque itself. The Great Mosque in Birgi is considered one of the oldest buildings belonging to the Emirate of Aydinoglu, and its design follows the basilica style. The mosque includes five passages extending perpendicular to the wall of the mihrab, and covering the space in front of the mihrab with the dome. In building the mosque, stone crushers, carved square stones, marble blocks and bricks were used. The marble panels in the eastern and southern walls were looted, as was the lion statue in the southeast corner. There are inscriptions on all entrances to the mosque. Contrary to custom, the minaret was built at the western end of the qibla wall, with its cylindrical brick mass protruding from a cubic base clad in reused marble. The prayer hall is rectangular, almost square. The five niches perpendicular to the Qibla wall are distinguished by their pointed arches supported by columns. These columns and their capitals were looted. The central metaphor is broader and higher than the other metaphors. The prayer hall is covered by a two-way sloping wooden roof covered with metal sheets. It also covers the square area enclosed within the arches in front of the sanctuary with a dome resting on spherical triangles. The niche of the mihrab, rectangular in shape, is located in the center of the southern wall. The minaret is entered from the western end of the southern wall. The Great Mosque of Birgi is richly decorated with woodwork and tiles. The minaret is decorated with glazed and unglazed turquoise bricks and mosaic tiles. The mihrab is also decorated with mosaic tiles in dark purple and turquoise, and similar decorations are present on the northern arch of the domed space in front of the mihrab. The mihrab and window shutters are important examples of woodwork from the 8th / 14th century. The mihrab is made of walnut wood using the kundigari technique; The outer surface is decorated with dense geometric formations with three-, five-, eight-, and ten-pointed stars, and four-, six-, and eight-pointed polygons. Each of these geometric shapes is decorated with dense floral designs. Moreover, there are a number of inscriptions written in Arabic, most of which have religious content. Three inscriptions containing the names of the building's patron, the architect, and the date of construction were found on the roof of the right side; These inscriptions show that the pulpit was made in the year 722 / 1323 by a teacher named Muzaffar al-Din ibn Abd al-Wahid. In 1995, the two shutters of the mihrab door were stolen and recovered while being sold at an auction in London. The wooden window shutters of the lower row are also heavily decorated. They are made of walnut wood and have patterns composed of floral and geometric designs. There are also inscriptions of a religious nature. The building has undergone many renovations and is still used as a place of worship.
Sample Text
"The Grand Mosque" within Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;tr;Mon01;12;ar
