Ancient Traces Route · Stop 2
This building was not born a mosque. It was first a church — and the only trace left of that first form is the semicircular recess opposite the entrance.
The building, converted from an old church after the Danishmendid conquest of Amasya, was long used as the “Ulu Cami” (Great Mosque) or the “Cuma Camisi” (Friday Mosque).1
A fire at the beginning of the 20th century ruined the mosque; only a few fragments of wall and, opposite the entrance, a semicircular recessed section were left standing.2
Ruined again by the earthquake of 1939, the mosque was repaired once more in 1956 and reopened.2
Opposite the entrance,
a semicircular recess.
It is one of the two things the fire left behind — the other being a few fragments of wall.2
In a mosque, the side directly opposite the entrance faces the qibla, and the mihrab is there. In a church, the semicircular recess opposite the entrance is the apse. Here the source says only “a semicircular recessed section”2 — and this page says no more than that.
But this much we can say: this shape is a legible sign that the building was not designed as a mosque. The source already records that the building was “converted from an old church”.1
The last two are names that were used for a long time.1 The first comes from the conquest (fetih).
The building is a church.1
After the conquest of Amasya it is converted into a mosque; for a long time it is used as the Ulu Cami / Cuma Camisi.1
Two mummies found in the mosque's crypt are taken out and moved to the Cumudar Tomb.3
Fire. The mosque is ruined; a few fragments of wall and the semicircular recess remain.2
Earthquake. The building is ruined again.2
Repaired and reopened.2
There were two mummies in the crypt of this mosque. In 1855 they were taken out and brought to join the other mummies in the Cumudar Tomb, which adjoins the Burmalı Minare Mosque.3
From there their journey went on: in 1925 to the madrasa of the Bayezid II Complex, in 1962 to the Gökmedrese, in 1977 to the Sultan Mesud Tomb and finally, in 2012, to the Amasya Museum.3
So of the eight mummies you see in the museum today, two came out from under this mosque.
When you go in, look straight in front of you. There is a semicircular recess there — one of the two parts that came through the fire and the earthquake.2
Then look at the walls. The source says that “a few fragments of wall” were left after the fire.2 Most of the walls you see today are from the 1956 repair.2 Which is old and which is new? The colour of the stone and the joints will tell you.
And think of what is under your feet: there was a crypt here, and two mummies lay in it.3
Every factual statement on this page rests on one of the sources below. Titles are given in their original Turkish so that they can be found; quotations from them are our translations.