Rising behind the Bakırcılar Çarşısı (Coppersmiths' Bazaar) in Amasya, just south of the Taşhan, the Burmalı Minare Mosque takes its name from its minaret, whose shaft is twisted into a helix from base to top. The building consists of a mosque of the final period of the Anatolian Seljuk state and a tomb attached to it. According to its inscription, it was built in 1242 by Ferruh Bey, one of the viziers of Sultan Gıyâseddin Keyhusrev II, and his brother, the treasurer Yusuf. Over nearly eight centuries it has gone through earthquakes, fires, periods of abandonment and use as a warehouse, and it was reopened for worship after a restoration completed in 2024. Both for its architecture and for the disputes in the sources over its history, the mosque is among the most studied Seljuk works of Amasya.

Burmalı Minare Mosque at a Glance

  • Other names: Ulu Camii (Great Mosque), Mahkeme Camii (Court Mosque).
  • Location: Central Amasya, Dere Mahallesi; behind the Bakırcılar Çarşısı, south of the Taşhan.
  • Period: Anatolian Seljuk; 1242 according to the inscription (640 AH).
  • Founders: The vizier Necmeddin Ferruh Bey and his brother, the treasurer Yusuf.
  • Attached structure: The octagonal tomb to the left of the entrance (also known as the Cumudar Tomb).
  • Administration: General Directorate of Foundations (Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü); in use today as a mosque.

The Inscription and the Founders

The inscription above the door of the mosque is written in a highly intricate script within the curve of an arch. According to Semavi Eyice's entry in the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the mosque was built in the time of Sultan Gıyâseddin Keyhusrev II, son of Keykubad (1237-1246), by one of his emirs, Ferruh (or Ferah) b. Selçuk. According to İ. Hakkı Uzunçarşılı's reading, the name of his brother, the treasurer Yûsuf, also appears in the inscription. For a detailed reading of the door, mihrab and minbar inscriptions, one may consult Ahmet Yardım's study of these three inscriptions.

The inscription states that the building is the work of two brothers. The Said Ferruh named in it is accepted to be Necmeddin Ferruh Bey, vizier of Gıyâseddin Keyhusrev II, and his brother is the treasurer Yusuf. The construction date based on the inscription is 1242 (640 AH), and recent studies on the Seljuk period likewise attribute the building to Ferruh Bey and the treasurer Yusuf Bey in the same year. In some records the date appears as 1243.

On the date the sources do not fully coincide. Some give the span 1237-1247, that is, the years of the sultan's reign, and Eyice also relies on 1237-1246. For the exact year, most of the sources that rest on the inscription agree on 1242.

There is also a dispute over the word "amere" in the inscription. Some authors understood it as "repaired" and supposed that Ferruh Bey merely restored the mosque. Eyice notes that the word is used for any work newly built or put in good order. Eyice also finds mistaken the claim that the mosque was originally a Byzantine church dating from the Komnenian period. In V. Cuinet's work on which Hüseyin Hüsameddin relied (La Turquie d'Asie, Paris 1892, I, 745) there is no reference at all to this mosque; it speaks only of the remains of a church of the Komnenian period in Amasya.

The Endowment and Its Trustees

According to Hüseyin Hüsameddin, Ferruh Bey's son-in-law İzzeddin Mehmed Pervâne Bey had a foundation deed drawn up for the mosque in 699 AH (1299-1300). Derya Aslan examines this endowment together with the deed in the archive of the General Directorate of Foundations and the Ottoman-period endowment records in the same archive; she also bases her study on the principal sources of Seljuk history, on Hüseyin Hüsameddin's Amasya Tarihi and on Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname.

Again according to Hüsameddin, the trusteeship later passed to the Müeyyedzâdes. For centuries the mosque survived not merely as a building but as a working endowment, with income and staff. The fact that it was repaired every time after burning down repeatedly can be considered together with this continuity.

Fires, Earthquakes and the Story of the Minaret

The history of the mosque is largely a history of disasters and repairs. According to the account based on Hüseyin Hüsameddin, the mosque was damaged in an earthquake in 999 AH (1590-91) and burned in 1011 (1602-03). The trustee Müeyyedzâde Pîrî Çelebi had the building repaired and had a wooden minaret built. When the mosque burned again in 1143 (1730-31), Hacı Ahmed Efendi had it repaired and added a stone minaret. According to local cultural records, the first minaret was of wood and was completely destroyed in the great fire of 1730; in its place a new one was built of stone, in keeping with the mosque's strong stone fabric. After this minaret, whose grooves wind around the shaft, the building was called Burmalı Minare ("Twisted Minaret") and the mosque Burmalı Minare Mosque.

The date of the minaret itself is disputed, and the sources divide in three directions:

  • Eyice (TDV): A twisted shaft, which continues the Central Asian Turkic minaret tradition, can hardly have been built in a late Ottoman period when Western influences were beginning to seep in. In his view the minaret is the work not of the 18th century but of the mosque's own time or of the early Ottoman period. Hüsameddin's failure to cite a source for anything, and his identification of this mosque with Evliya Çelebi's Mahkeme Camii, may also have led to error.
  • Some inventory records: The minaret is twisted, shows Ottoman-period features and was built entirely of cut stone in the 17th century.
  • Muhammet Arslan: The minaret is the work of the 1730-31 repair; when it collapsed in the 1939 Amasya earthquake, it was rebuilt from the ground up in 1962.

Eyice writes that the building should be studied thoroughly, both for its construction date and its architecture, so that many questions may be clarified. He adds that the nature of the vaulted ruin visible in an old photograph in front of the mosque's entrance façade, and its relation to the mosque, should also be investigated. To name a single year for the minaret is therefore, for now, only to report the view of one group of sources.

Abandonment, Storage Use and Reopening for Worship

According to Eyice, the mosque was left abandoned and allowed to fall into ruin for a long time, and in the 1930s it was used as a farm-implement store by the Ziraat Bank. Muhammet Arslan writes that it was damaged again in the fire of 1915, that after this it became a depot of the Public Works Directorate and then a farm depot of the Ziraat Bank, and that it was also affected by the 1939 Amasya earthquake. Although the two accounts differ in detail, they agree that for most of the twentieth century the mosque was used for purposes other than worship.

The General Directorate of Foundations had the mosque thoroughly repaired in 1962, had the minaret completed and opened the building for worship. In 1974 the domes were covered with copper.

The most recent restoration was carried out by the Tokat Regional Directorate of Foundations. The work began in 2022, and the building was repaired faithfully to its original form. The roof coverings were laid in lead, the decayed wooden window and door frames were renewed according to the original design, the façades were cleaned by granule blasting, and the missing parts of the tilework were completed. The mosque was reopened for worship on Friday, 2 August 2024, before the Friday prayer, in a ceremony attended by Governor Yılmaz Doruk. Present at the ceremony were the Amasya deputies Haluk İpek and Hasan Çilez, the Tokat Regional Director of Foundations Sebahattin Erdoğan, the Rector of Amasya University Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı Turabi and many citizens; the programme began with a recitation of the Qur'an and ended with a prayer by the Provincial Mufti Durmuş Ayvaz. In his speech Governor Doruk noted that prayer had been held in the building for about eight centuries, and that the restoration had been begun in 2022 and completed on a Friday.

Architecture

Plan and Covering

The mosque has a rectangular plan extending in the direction of the qibla; Eyice counts it among the early works built on this plan principle. It is covered by three domes set one behind another along the central axis, and the side aisles are barrel-vaulted. The interior is divided into three aisles by rows of three piers along the mihrab axis; when the piers are joined by pointed arches, each aisle is divided into three bays, making nine bays in all. Of these, the three in the middle row are covered with domes; in the side rows, two bays near the qibla wall have cross vaults and the others barrel vaults. The transition to the domes is made with pendentives. Eyice regards the plan as a smaller and simpler example of the plan type seen in buildings such as the Torumtay Mosque in Amasya and the Divriği Great Mosque.

The drums of the domes point to early Ottoman practice; according to some researchers the prayer hall was originally supported by timber and had a wooden ceiling, and must have been renewed in the Ottoman period because of the frequent fires. The present interior as a whole should therefore not be regarded as surviving from 1242. A door opening in the entrance wall gives passage to the upper floor of the adjoining tomb; from here a staircase also leads up to the gallery above the section just inside the entrance.

Material and Façades

The entrance façade is of smooth ashlar, the other façades of rubble stone, though some sources regard all the walls as ashlar. Brick was used in the window arches, tile in the mihrab and wood in the minbar, and there is reused material in places. There are four windows each on the east and west façades and three on the south. According to Eyice there is no significant architectural ornament in the mosque; the decoration is concentrated chiefly in the crown portal, the mihrab and the minbar.

The Crown Portal

The mosque is entered by the crown portal projecting between the minaret and the tomb. The portal is a narrow iwan with a pointed arch. It is enclosed within a rectangular frame by borders: the first border is a plain moulding, the second a decoration in which a six-pointed star is cut into a three-pointed star, and the third has a plaited motif. On either side of the doorway stands a small column with a snail-shell capital. In the east corner is a geometric rosette developing around a ten-pointed star; the rosette to the west has not survived. The construction inscription is on the bow-shaped border of the pediment. Inside the doorway are facing mihrabiye niches; set within a rectangular frame, these niches have pointed arches and grooved hoods, with a floral composition of curling branches of rumi and palmette on the arch spandrels and a geometric panel built of broken-line bands above.

Eyice writes that the pointed arch of the stone doorway is framed with a relief-carved decoration, and that from the beam holes it can be seen that the entrance façade was once protected by a wooden canopy. On either side of the entrance there is a niche in the form of a mihrab, and in the corners there are three-quarter engaged columns; the door opening has a segmental arch.

The Mihrab and the Tile Master

The mihrab has a pointed arch and a muqarnas hood; inside it is a second, smaller niche with a fan-shaped hood. On either side are cylindrical-shafted small columns with hourglass-shaped capitals and bases. The mihrab has a frame of dark-blue tiles. In the square frame above is a two-line master's inscription. Eyice reads this inscription as "amel-i Muhammed b. Mahmûd el-Errânî"; but in Gabriel's opinion it cannot be known whether this person was the architect of the mosque, only the maker of the mihrab, or a tile master. Muhammet Arslan, for his part, gives the tile artist, on the basis of the mihrab inscription, as "Mehmed son of Mahmud of Aksaray".

The Minbar

The wooden minbar is in the original Seljuk style apart from its panelled sections. Its door, set in a rectangular frame, has the shape of a Bursa arch, and on it Verse 73 of Surat az-Zumar is written in relief. The spandrel of the arch carries floral ornament. The door is bounded on both sides by two borders; the outer border is decorated with circles formed by curling rumi and palmette branches, and the second border has not survived. On its leaves are various hadith inscriptions. The balustrade consists of three panels; only the panel facing the kiosk is original, and here is seen a lattice pattern in which the hexagons at the centre form a dodecagon. Gülay Apa Kurtişoğlu wrote an article (2014) linking this minbar with the minbar of the Divriği Great Mosque.

The Minaret

The minaret stands to the right of the entrance façade, built separately. As in the old Seljuk tomb towers, it rises on an ashlar plinth with chamfered triangular corners. At the base, half-round rods beginning with pointed reliefs whose ends turn downward, and the grooves between them, twist helically along the whole shaft up to the balcony. The shaft is cylindrical and the minaret has a single balcony. The balcony and its parapet are plain; the upper section is finer in its rods and also twisted. The upper section, which had collapsed later, was completed in the last repair, and a lead-covered wooden cap was set on it. As close parallels of this type Eyice lists the minarets of the Muradiye in Plovdiv, the Gedik Ahmed Pasha Mosque in Afyonkarahisar, the Ağca Bey mosques in the Bahçe district of Adana and the Burmalı Mescid at Şehzadebaşı in Istanbul.

The mosque has a single minaret. The phrase "a second Ottoman minaret" found in earlier texts could not be confirmed in the sources.

The Tomb and the Mummies

The Structure of the Tomb

To the left of the entrance façade, attached to the mosque wall, rises an octagonal tomb. It is built of smoothly worked ashlar on a square base with triangular chamfered corners; it was finished in the last repair with a pyramidal cap, and under the eaves moulding runs a muqarnas band. The upper floor is reached from inside the mosque. This floor, covered inside with a masonry dome, has on three of its faces windows that are not aligned with one another. The window facing the minaret is decorated differently from the others: at the corners of a muqarnas niche there are small columns with rosettes above them, and on the two side faces very small mihrabiyes are worked. This arrangement makes the place resemble a door of the tomb opening outward, but there is no double-sided staircase such as would have to lead to such a door. Eyice thinks that the original design may have been changed later and the door turned into a window; he also notes that if this had been a window for petitions, a staircase would still have been needed.

Beneath the tomb is a square-plan, barrel-vaulted crypt for mummies (a burial chamber). The crypt is entered through an opening under the entrance landing of the upper floor. According to Eyice the tomb is an example of the Seljuk tradition of funerary monuments and was built together with the mosque. In 1147 AH (1734-35) Hıfzızâde Hacı Osman Fâik Efendi turned the upper floor into a library, and the books were later dispersed. Eyice also remarks that since the upper floor was made a library, the sarcophagi that must have stood there must have disappeared much earlier.

Whose Tomb It Is

The sources divide over whom the tomb belongs to:

  • Some sources write that the building steward Ferruh Bey and his son Yusuf Bey lie here, and that the tomb belongs chiefly to "Ferruh Bey and his son". Yet according to the inscription Yusuf is Ferruh's brother; the expression "his son" is inconsistent in the sources.
  • According to Hüsameddin this is the Cümûdâr Tomb, belonging to Cümûdâr b. Yeşmüt, a grandson of Hülâgû, and beside him lies the emir of Amasya, Abuşkay İşboğanuyan. Eyice says that, because Hüsameddin does not cite the source of this information, which he introduces with "according to the records", it cannot be known how far it is correct, and that in the tomb immediately adjoining the mosque it is the founder or founders of the mosque who should lie.

The mummy of Prince Cumudar, who served as Anatolian Nazır (supervisor) in Amasya during the period of Ilkhanid sovereignty in Anatolia, was kept in this tomb until it was placed in the Amasya Museum; for this reason the tomb is also known as the Cumudar Tomb.

Where the Mummies Came From

Among the Ilkhanid-period (14th century) mummies displayed in the tomb of Mesud I in the garden of the Amasya Museum are counted Prince Cumudar, the emir of Amasya İşbuga Noyan, İzzeddin Mehmed Pervâne, his concubine and their children; these were brought from the tombs of the Burmalı Minare Mosque and the Fethiye Mosque. Eyice reports that the mummified bodies, all later removed to the Amasya Museum, were said to have been brought here from the Fethiye Mosque around 1271 AH (1854-55).

The origin of the mummies is therefore two-part: some were in this tomb and some in the Fethiye Mosque. All belong to the Ilkhanid period, that is, to the century after the building of the mosque. The mummies are thus connected not with the founding of the mosque but with their later placing here.

Evliya Çelebi's Mahkeme Mosque

When Evliya Çelebi came to Amasya around 1646, he spoke of a Mahkeme Mosque with a timber roof and a wooden minaret, containing "many saints standing with their bodies perfectly whole in their coffins within a cell". It is claimed that this building is the Burmalı Minare Mosque; Eyice, however, does not find the identification convincing enough. Local records also present the Burmalı Minare Mosque as the building Evliya Çelebi calls the Mahkeme Mosque, and state that the first minaret of the mosque was of wood. This difference of opinion leaves the source of the name "Mahkeme Camii" given to the mosque uncertain as well.

Visiting Notes

  • Location and access: In the city centre, in Dere Mahallesi, beside the open car park of Amasya Municipality and south of the Taşhan.
  • On foot: It can be reached on foot from around the Bakırcılar Çarşısı and the Taşhan.
  • Open for worship: It is an active mosque (in use again since the 2024 restoration); prayer times and mosque etiquette should be observed.
  • Points to notice: The crown portal, the inscription, the mihrab tiles, the wooden minbar and the grooves beginning at the base of the minaret.
  • Museum connection: To see the mummies removed from the tomb, one goes to the Amasya Museum. Museum hours and fees vary by year, so current information should be obtained before a visit.

Sights in the Surroundings

The neighbouring Taşhan was built in 1699 by the Mutasarrıf Rahtuvan Hacı Mehmet Pasha, with Mimar Mehmet Kalfa as the builder; its restoration was completed at the end of 2012 and it serves today as a hotel. Nearby lies the Bakırcılar Çarşısı. The Amasya Museum in the centre of the city and the historic buildings along the Yeşilırmak are also stops that can be visited on the same day.

Chronology

1242 (640 AH): Construction date based on the inscription; founders Ferruh Bey and his brother Yusuf (other proposed years: 1237-1247).

1299-1300 (699 AH): İzzeddin Mehmed Pervâne Bey is reported to have had a foundation deed drawn up.

1590-91: Earthquake damage.

1602-03: Fire; repair by Müeyyedzâde Pîrî Çelebi and a wooden minaret.

1730-31: Fire; repair by Hacı Ahmed Efendi, the stone twisted minaret (its date is disputed).

1734-35: The upper floor of the tomb is made into a library.

Around 1854-55: The reported bringing of the mummies from the Fethiye Mosque.

1915: Fire.

1939: The Amasya earthquake.

1962: Thorough repair by the General Directorate of Foundations, completion of the minaret and reopening for worship.

1974: The domes are covered with copper.

2022: The last restoration work begins.

2 August 2024: Reopening for worship after the restoration.

Sources

The following sources were used for this article:

  • Semavi Eyice, "Burmalı Minare Camii ve Türbesi", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 6, Istanbul 1992, pp. 444-445. islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
  • Culture Portal (kulturportali.gov.tr), "Burmalı Minare Camii ve Cumudar Türbesi" (Amasya Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism) and the Cultural Inventory entry "Burmalı Minare Camii". kulturportali.gov.tr
  • Muhammet Arslan, "Amasya Burmalı Minare Camii", Online Turkey Tourism Encyclopedia, 2019. amasya.gov.tr
  • Derya Aslan, "İzzeddin Mehmet Pervâne Bey (ö. 1300) ve Amasya Burmalı Minare Camii Vakfı", Selçuk Üniversitesi Selçuklu Araştırmaları Dergisi, no. 13, 2020, pp. 287-308.
  • Amasya Governorate, "Restorasyonu Tamamlanan Burmalı Minare Camii Düzenlenen Törenle İbadete Açıldı", 2 August 2024.
  • Ahmet Yardım, Amasya Burmalı Minâre Camii Kitâbeleri (Kapı, Mihrap, Minber), Amasya Valiliği Kültür Yayınları, Ankara 2004 (from the bibliography of the Turkey Tourism Encyclopedia).
  • Amasya Municipality City Guide, "Burmalı Minare Camii"; Vikipedi, the entries "Burmalı Minare Camii" and "Amasya Arkeoloji ve Mumya Müzesi" (auxiliary sources).

Online sources