Bab Gedid Mosque
The Bab Gedid Mosque, also known as the Eski Mosque (Greek: Εσκί Τζαμί, from Turkish: Eski Camii, meaning "old mosque") was an Ottoman-period mosque on the Aegean island of Kos, in southeastern Greece, before it was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1933 and finally demolished a few years later in 1935. Today its octagonal stone minaret is all that survives from the mosque.
History[edit]
According to some plausible—but far from certain—speculations the Bab Gedid Mosque was built in 1586,[1] a few decades after the island's conquest by the Ottomans; if true, that would make the surviving minaret the oldest Ottoman monument on the island.[2] Some more moderate suggestions place its construction (and with certainty its renovation) in 1777 at the end of the bazaar, funded by Mourabit Hadji Moustafa Agha and his wife.[3]
It was located on the hill of the citadel in what is today the Diagoras Square, at the far end of the then-Muslim quarter of Kos town, which was densely built. To the eastofthe old mosque stood the outdoor fountain which was used for washing before the prayer, as well as a small cemetery.[4] Its name, Bab Gedid, means "mosque of the new gate," and it was also known as Yeni Kapı Mosque (meaning the same).[1]
The mosque was damaged badly in an earthquake in 1933, and then demolished around 1935, except for its minaret, in order to implement the new town plan.[4]
Architecture[edit]
The minaret, the sole surviving element of the Old Mosque, stands tall at 11.35 metres in height, with access from inside; it was erected in an octagonal shape, and it was built on its mosque's northwestern side, in contact with the rest of the structure.[4] In the courtyard a fountain was erected, built on the north side of the minaret, which bears inscription regarding the mosque, giving 1586 as the year of its construction.[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Kaymakçı & Özgün 2018, p. 189.
- ^ "ΜΟΥΣΟΥΛΜΑΝΙΚΑ ΜΝΗΜΕΙΑ ΠΟΛΗΣ ΚΩ" [Muslim Monuments of Kos Town]. aegeanislands.gr (in Greek). Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ^ Konuk 2008, p. 78–79.
- ^ a b c d "Eski Mosque". discoveringkos.com. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
Bibliography[edit]
- Kaymakçı, Mustafa; Özgün, Cihan (October 20, 2018). The Forgotten Turkish Identity of the Aegean Islands. Konya, Turkey: Eğitim Yayınevi. ISBN 9786057557117.
- Konuk, Neval (2008). Ottoman architecture in Lesvos, Rhodes, Chios and Kos islands. Ankara: The Center for Strategic Research. ISBN 978-9757307693.
External links[edit]
Media related to Bab Gedid Mosque at Wikimedia Commons
