Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Brief synthesis

The Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia is a serial property of five most representative early survival wooden Islamic religious buildings in the world. Constructed between the late 13th and mid-14th centuries, the property includes the Great Mosque of Afyon (1272-77), the Great Mosque of Sivrihisar (1274-75) in Eskişehir; Ahi Şerefettin (Aslanhane) Mosque in Ankara (1289-90), the Eşrefoğlu Mosque of Beyşehir in Konya (1296-99), and the Mahmut Bey Mosque (1366-67) of Kasabaköyü in Kastamonu; each of them is located in a different province of present-day Türkiye.

The five mosques share the same architectural features: the exterior of each building is made of rubble and cut stone masonry, while the interior has multiple rows of structural wooden columns with muqarnas (three-dimensional “honeycomb” Islamic decorations) or stone spolia (repurposed architectural fragments) as column capitals, all supporting a flat wooden ceiling and the roof ("hypostyle"). The wooden beams and the consoles supporting them, the muqarnas column capitals, and in some cases, the imposts on the muqarnas capitals have been intricately decorated. Woodcarving and painting were used skilfully and extensively on the architectural fittings and furnishings, including doors, columns, capitals, ceiling beams, and consoles. Some mosques have outstanding examples of late 13th-century minbars (pulpits) constructed in the tongue-and-groove kundekari technique.

In the context of Islamic religious architecture being dominated by stone and brick masonry buildings, these five mosques represent outstanding examples of an unusual building type that occupies a significant position in the development of Islamic architecture. The construction of these mosques can also be linked to the Mongol invasions of this area in the 1240s and the subsequent arrival of Central Asian craftspeople knowledgeable about wooden construction technology and possessing excellent woodworking skills. These wooden-columned hypostyle buildings collectively represent an exceptional and early achievement in using wood as a construction material for mosques.

Criterion (ii): The Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia exhibit an important interchange of ideas and practices related to the specific typology of wooden hypostyle religious architecture that originated in the early Islamic architecture of the Arab region and Central Asia and was brought to the region of Anatolia during the medieval period. The five mosques exerted a considerable influence throughout Anatolia and beyond between the 14th and the early 20th centuries.

Criterion (iv): In the context of Islamic religious architecture that is dominated by stone and brick buildings, the Wooden Hypostyle Mosques are a rare surviving type of religious architecture that once flourished in medieval Anatolia. Their high achievement in timber construction techniques, use of wood as a structural element, interior decoration, woodcarving, and artwork together represent an outstanding testimony that illustrates a significant stage in the history of Islamic architecture.

Integrity

The Wooden Hypostyle Mosques contain all the attributes necessary to express its Outstanding Universal Value, including the interior wooden load-bearing structures within exterior stone envelopes, the wooden architectural elements, and the interior decoration. The property covers the entire period between the late 13th and mid-14th centuries, when the construction of wooden hypostyle mosques was prevalent in the historic region of Anatolia. The distribution of the mosques stretched from northern to central to southern Anatolia, reflecting the extent of once-widespread wooden mosque construction activities in the medieval period. The size of the property is adequate to ensure a complete representation of the features and processes that convey its significance. The attributes in each component part of the property are mostly intact, and major pressures on them are being managed. The five mosques exhibit a satisfactory state of conservation and do not suffer from the adverse effects of development or neglect.

Authenticity

The authenticity of the Wooden Hypostyle Mosques is satisfactory. Within the cultural context of medieval Anatolia, the attributes credibly and truthfully convey the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. Some changes to the attributes have resulted from replacements and reconstructions, notably the roofs being changed from flat earthen to gabled or pitched, thus reducing the ability to understand the value of the property. While forms and designs have been changed, as have some materials, the key attributes that define this particular type of Islamic architecture such as the wooden load-bearing structures, stone envelopes, interior woodwork, and painted decorations remain largely authentic. The use and function of the mosques as living religious places have continued for more than seven centuries, and the societal mechanisms that support this continuing use and function are robust. The locations of the component parts and associated buildings have not changed, and the spirit and feeling of the property have continued to the present.

Protection and management requirements

All five Wooden Hypostyle Mosques are designated as “immovable cultural property that requires protection” under the Law on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Properties No. 2863, the highest level of national legislation concerning the protection of cultural heritage in Türkiye. The Mahmut Bey Mosque component part and its buffer zone are in a conservation area, while the other component parts and their buffer zones are within the boundaries of urban sites. Both the conservation areas and the urban sites are subject to the highest level of legal protection. The mosques are owned by the Directorate General of Foundations, and thus are subject to the protection afforded by the Foundations Law No. 5737.

A comprehensive site management system has been established, comprised of institutions at the national, regional, and local levels. A site management plan, developed through wide-ranging consultations with various stakeholders, guides conservation and management activities. A site manager has been appointed to coordinate the necessary works defined in the management plan to protect, enhance, and promote the property and its wider settings. Advisory boards and coordination and supervision boards have also been established to support the management system. Undertaking comprehensive documentation of all the mosques following a common standard, with the outcomes to be used as the baseline information for monitoring and management, as well as developing a maintenance manual based on internationally accepted conservation principles, and completing the comprehensive risk management plan for the serial property as a whole should enhance the management and conservation of the property.