The Princes' Route · Stop 4

Kilari Selim Ağa Mosque

Between the Taşhan and the Bedesten, right in the middle of the bazaar. Its inscription gives one name; the people use another.

AH 889 / 1484 Dere neighbourhood In the bazaar

Kilari Mosque, 1937. *Hüseyin Menç Archive.*

One mosque, two names

The sources call the building “Kilari Süleyman Ağa Camisi”, but record its founder as “Kilari Selim Ağa”. Both appear in the same documents, side by side.^1, 2

Name of the building

Kilari Süleyman Ağa Camisi

The Site Management Plan and Oltulu's study give the building this name as their heading.^1, 2

Name of its founder

Kilari Selim Ağa

The same sources write this name on the “commissioned by” line.^1, 2 The book uses this name too.³

There is a small divergence in the date as well. Some of the sources say AH 889 / 1484,² others 1485.⁴ This page has taken AH 889 / 1484, the record closest to the inscription, as its basis; the divergence has not been hidden.

📜 What do the documents say?

The mosque was built between the Taş Han and the Bedesten. To its north are the Bedesten and Mustafa Kemal Paşa Avenue, to its south the Taşhan and Arasta Street.¹

Dressed stone and brick were used in its construction.³ According to Oltulu, all the façades and the minaret are of dressed stone.² The prayer hall is square in plan with a single dome; the dome is carried by an octagonal drum.³ The domes and the roof are covered with lead.¹

The late-comers' portico has two sections: pointed arches link its three round columns, and it is covered by two domes. In the right-hand section is the small door with a segmental arch above which the building inscription is set; the left-hand section is set aside for prayer.³ The minaret on the west façade has a single balcony.³

The inscription is in place. Above the entrance door is the original inscription.¹ The door to the minaret stair, on the other hand, is inside the prayer hall.²

While you are there, look for

The inscription over the door. It is the original¹ — the building's own declaration is there.
The two sections of the late-comers' portico. One is given to the door, the other to prayer.³ Count the three round columns and the pointed arches that link them.
The drum of the dome. Octagonal.³ The Büyük Ağa Madrasa on the route is octagonal too — in the same years, in the same city.
The surroundings. The Bedesten to the north, the Taşhan to the south.¹ This mosque is as much a part of the bazaar as it is a place of worship.

Key facts

Built: AH 889 / 1484² — some sources 1485⁴
Commissioned by: Kilari Selim Ağa^1, 2, 3
Name in the sources: Kilari Süleyman Ağa Camisi^1, 2
Plan: Square prayer hall, single dome, octagonal drum; late-comers' portico in two sections^1, 3
Material: Dressed stone and brick; dome and roof covered with lead^1, 3
Location: 40.650804, 35.831963 — verified against OpenStreetMap
In the book: Kültürel Miras Boyutuyla Amasya, p. 39

📍 Open on the map

Sources

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.

Amasya Harşena Dağı ve Pontus Kral Kaya Mezarları Alan Yönetim Planı ve UNESCO Dünya Mirası Başvuru Dosyası (Amasya: Amasya Belediyesi, 2022), 83. — “2.3.2.9. Bağlantı Noktası 9”: “The Kilari Süleyman Ağa Mosque… was built in 1484 by Kilari Selim Ağa.”
Ersel Oltulu, Amasya'nın Anıtsal Eserleri ve Hızır Paşa Külliyesi Restitüsyon ve Koruma Önerisi (İstanbul: Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, 2006), 40. — Record card: “Name: Kilari Süleyman Ağa Camisi… Commissioned by: Kilari Selim Ağa… Date of construction: 889 H / 1484”.
Kültür Portalı, “Kilari Selim Ağa Camii” (Erişim 7 Temmuz 2025).
Ahmet Caner Çatal, 19. Yüzyılın İkinci Yarısında Amasya Şehri'nin Demografik Yapısı ve İskân Siyaseti (Niğde: Niğde Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yüksek Lisans Tezi, 2009), 13. — The table of construction dates of Amasya's mosques: “Kilari Selim Ağa Camii 1485”.