Karađoz Bey Mosque

Karagöz Bey Mosque (Bosnian: Karađoz-begova džamija, Turkish: Karagöz Mehmed Bey Camii) is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Karagöz Bey Mosque
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Location
Location	Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Architecture
Architect(s)	Mimar Sinan
Type	Mosque
Style	Classical Ottoman
Completed	1557
Specifications
Length	13 metres (43 ft)
Width	13 metres (43 ft)
Dome(s)	1
Dome height (outer)	16.49 metres (54.1 ft)
Dome height (inner)	15.89 metres (52.1 ft)
Dome dia. (outer)	10.72 metres (35.2 ft)
Minaret(s)	1
Minaret height	34.50 metres (113.2 ft)[1]
Materials	stone

With its big dome and high minaret it is the largest in the region.

History

An Arabic foundation inscription on the mosque records that it was commissioned by Mehmed Beg b. Abu al-Saʿadat’ who was a brother of a vizier in the year AH 965 (1557-58). Some scholars have claimed that the vizier was the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha but Rüstem Pasha is recorded as having only a single brother, Sinan Pasha.[2]

The mosque may have been designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. It is in the form of a domed cube fronted by a double portico. The three domes of the inner portico are supported by four marble columns. The outer portico has a shed roof resting on small octagonal pillars. The large 10.65 metres (34.9 ft) dome of the mosque sits on an octagonal fenestrated drum which is supported by eight pointed arches.[2]

The mosque was severely damaged during World War II, and faced near destruction during the Bosnian War in the early 1990s. However, Karađoz Mosque, like the rest of Mostar, underwent extensive repairs between 2002 and 2004. The mosque was completely renovated, and reopened to the public in July 2004.

References

1. "Karađoz-begova džamija, graditeljska cjelina" [Karagöz Bey Mosque, architectural complex] (in Bosnian). Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 4 May 2004. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
2. Necipoğlu 2005, p. 441.

Sources

• Necipoğlu, Gülru (2005). The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-86189-253-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Karadjoz Beg Mosque, Archnet