Located in Sivas, Turkey, gaining importance with its architectural style, balanced and harmonious design of ornamentation and covering systems, this masterpiece is at the top of the list of works worth seeing in the world.
Known as the Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital, this building complex is a complex consisting of a mosque, hospital and tomb. It was built during the Mengücek Principality of the Anatolian Seljuk Empire. The Great Mosque was built by Ahmet Shah, the son of Süleyman Shah; The hospital was built by his wife, Melike Turan Melek. The Chief Architect of the building complex, which was started in 1228 and completed in 1243, is Ahlatlı Hürrem Shah, son of Mughis.
The magnificent motifs, which reflect the rarest and finest examples of stonework, created by the masters of Ahlat and Tbilisi, found in many parts of the complex, especially on the doors and columns, attract the attention and interest of the whole world.
Another feature that makes this work different and unique is that none of the tens of thousands of motifs in the decorations, which are thought to be symmetrical when viewed from afar, but which are essentially asymmetrical, never repeat themselves; It is the revealing of the different beings in the universe in a magnificent harmony and balance by engraving on stone. This masterpiece of Islamic architecture, which was included in the "World Heritage List” by UNESCO in 1985, is also under the protection of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey.
Sivas Divriği Great Mosque
Great Mosque is a rectangular planned structure in the north-south direction and was built entirely with cut stones. There are three separate monumental gates in the north, west and east directions that provide entrance and exit to the mosque. The interior is divided into twenty-five units of different widths with double-sided pointed arches connecting the octagonal pillars.
The interior of the mosque contains simplicity compared to the gates, so that the attention of the worshipers is not distracted and the awe and peace in worship is not disturbed.
There is a spear and a torch motif painted with iron oxide paint on the left side of the back of the gate of Paradise. The spear represents power and the torch represents knowledge.
In the northwest corner of the mosque, there is a minaret with a cylindrical body and a single balcony. The inscription states that the minaret was built in 1565 by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. It is also known that the interior of the mosque was repaired at this date.
West Gate
In addition to its names such as Çarşı Gate, Exit Gate, and Shadowy Gate, the name of this gate, which has been widely used recently, is "Textile Gate". The gate, where fine stonework reaches its peak, is named because it resembles a rug or prayer rug and exhibits a high rate of lace samples.
The most striking element on the gate is the protruding keystone. Its surface is embossed with a pot head motif symbolizing blacksmiths. The chief architect used the keystone method, which is the way the stones interlock and hold, throughout this work.
Between May and September, 45 minutes before the afternoon prayer, a shadow in the form of a human silhouette forms at the West Gate. This silhouette takes the form of a shadow of a person reciting the Qur'an first, and standing on his feet by tying his hands when the prayer time approaches. It is stated by experts that these silhouettes on this door as well as on other doors are not a coincidence, that they can be made with a very comprehensive knowledge of physics and very fine calculations, and that the mystery of these light and shadow plays is still not fully resolved.
Heaven Gate
The name given to this gate as the gate of heaven is due to the fact that all the motifs on it describe heaven. The descriptions of the unique blessings of heaven in the verses describing paradise in the Qur'an are engraved on stone here. The whole door is likened to a garden of heaven, and heaven and its layers are explained.
Shah Gate
This gate, located in the eastern part of the mosque, has a modest appearance made in the classical Seljuk style. It is the gate used by the shah to enter the mosque for worship, opening to the part of the mosque whose skeleton remains.
The purpose of making the gate smaller than human height is to reveal the consciousness of humility and servitude in people and to emphasize that the Shah will bow down only in the presence of Allah. The sultan's gates and sultan's chambers were not built to isolate the sultan or lords from the community, but to protect them against possible assassinations and attacks.
Hospital
The Divriği Hospital is one of the oldest and most important hospitals in Anatolia. The hospital was also used as a madrasah where positive and religious sciences were taught during the Ottoman period.
Hospital “Crown” Gate
The entrance gate of the Hospital, which has a magnificent structure, is called the "Crown Gate". Pentagonal and octagonal star motifs symbolizing the Seljuks were used on the inner pediment of the door. The stars and crescents on the door are exactly the same as the crescent and star on the Turkish Flag.
Hospital Interior
The interior of the hospital, which was planned in the form of a general hospital, was used to treat mental and nervous patients. The recitation of the Holy Quran, the performance of Sufi music, the sounds that the water makes as it flows into and out of the pool in the middle, are some of the methods used in the treatment of mental and nervous patients.
The ceiling of the great iwan is an example of a vault that was built with a spiral keystone system and the mystery of which has not been solved today. To a point where no one can easily notice the name of the chief architect in the hospital; He simply engraved it on the head of the eastern arch bearing the great iwan vault and prayed for his work to see the apocalypse.
Tomb
In the room to the left of the large iwan are the graves of Ahmet Shah, his wife Turan Melek and his family. There is a motif loaded with mystical symbols on the door of the tomb. When viewed as a whole, the motif is a scale on which hearts are weighed. The message to be conveyed here is: “We have passed away from this world, and you will pass away as well. This world is a test place and the place where you will see the reward is the hereafter. Prepare yourself for that day. There is a scale on which your deeds will be weighed; While a person is in the world, he commits one of the choices such as good or evil, right or wrong, merit or sin. While doing these things, a person should not be afraid of dying if he keeps the scales in balance and his heart is turned towards Allah.”
Pulpit
The pulpit, made of ebony wood, which is the longest-lived tree in the world, is as old as the mosque and still preserves its originality and is used today. It is one of the masterpieces of the kündekari technique among the minbars built during the Anatolian Seljuk State. This pulpit is one of the important works in which the four styles used in woodworking come together.
Mihrab
The large stone mihrab is a unique work with its form and decoration reminiscent of a castle gate or a palace gate. The hearts that are close to Allah are filled with the light of Allah, and the hearts that are far away are embroidered empty, which is a form of expression that symbolizes the relationship between a person and Allah. There are four small windows in the dome located above the area in front of the mihrab. Three of these are ingenious star-shaped small windows that bring the first rays of the day in in the form of morning stars at dawn.