Page 337 - kayseri-medeniyetlerin-besigi

tariHi eserler | Battal GaZi camii ve kırkkıZlar türBesi
hIstorIcal artIfacts | Battal GhazI mosque and KIrKKIzlar tomB 337

BATTAL GHAZI MOSQUE AND KIRKKIZLAR TOMB conquered Kayseri, a mosque became a necessity for Muslims and this
The work known as Battal Ghazi and Kırkkızlar (Kırk Nisa) is located building was converted into a mosque from a building located here or
in the southeast of the city center, 2 km from Kayseri, known as Mazak he got it built to Byzantine workers. When the Seljuks arrived, the city
or Eusebeia, on the northwest slope of the old residential place. had come to the plain, it was in the present city walls and this mosque
Battal Ghazi, Seyyid Ghazi or Seyyid Battal Ghazi was one of the was far out of the city. However, the grandchildren of Danishmend
Umayyad commanders of the eighth century and served during the who remembers Battal Ghazi’s memories and those who came after
campaigns of Istanbul and Anatolia against Byzantium in this period and him restored the artifacts that he had loved. For example during the
is one of the legendary Islamic heroes especially among the Turks. As years 1204–1210, this mosque undergoes a serious repair. Battal Ghazi
Evliya Çelebi mentions this mosque, “Seyyid Battal Cafer Ghazi Dervish Mosque has stone markers of various Seljuk stone masters.
Lodge is a Bektashis place, it offers much to those who come and go “. The mosque, which had been repaired during the Ottoman period,
According to epics; during the Arab–Byzantine battles between remained in the rural district over time and continued to suffer from
the years of 726–740, he conquered Kayseri and dominated here for a lack of care and indifference. It is known that the surrounding slums
while. The mosque, which is named after him, is in the old settlement are used to carry all the materials up to the gravestones found in the
called Eskişehir today and there are building remains from the Roman– cemetery around the mosque.
Byzantine period. The Battal Mosque is more likely to be a Byzantine In 2002, the mosque was renovated and opened to service under
structure with its original walls built in 15 cm high rows of bifurcated the supervision of the Kayseri Mufti organization and the General
stones. The same stone wall facades are also visible in the nearby Directorate of Foundations. This mosque, which is the oldest and most
Roman Baths and Emir Aga ruins. The other Roman buildings are older significant in Kayseri, is an important place of worship and visit today.
than Battal Mosque. Because the first structure of the glass was built Kırkkızlar Tomb today survived as a small place and the researches
on their waterways. According to Mehmet Çayırdağ; After Battal Ghazi reveal that the tomb was built in XII. Century.