Yivli Minare Mosque

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The fluted minaret.
The fluted minaret.

The Yivli Minare Mosque (Ulu camii) is located in Antalya, Turkey. The mosque's fluted minaret, which is decorated with dark blue tiles, is a landmark and symbol of the city. The mosque was first built in 1230 and fully reconstructed in 1373. The minaret is 38 metres high, built on a square stone base, with eight fluted sections and has 90 steps to the top.

The first building (1230) may have been a Byzantine church originally and may have been converted into a mosque around 1225-7, during the reign of the Seljuk sultan Ala ad-Din Kay Qubadh I (1220-1237). The original mosque was destroyed in the 14th century and a new mosque was built which, with its six domes, is one of the oldest examples of multi-dome construction in Anatolia.

Today the building houses the Antalya Ethnographic Museum and contains clothing, kitchen utensils, embroidery, tapestries and looms, socks, sacks, kilims, ornaments, and nomadic tents. It was opened to the public in 1974.

[edit] External links