Great Mosque of Diyarbakır

The Great Mosque of Diyarbakır (Ulu Camii) rises at the very heart of the walled old city, where Gazi Caddesi meets Melik Ahmet Caddesi, and is widely regarded as the oldest surviving mosque in Anatolia.

History

The present building was raised largely under the Great Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I, dated by inscriptions on its western façade to 1091-1092, over the remains of an earlier place of worship. A mosque was first founded here after the Muslim conquest of the city in 639, and archaeological study suggests the structure stands over part of the Roman forum, with tradition also placing the Byzantine Church of Saint Thomas (Mar Toma) on the same ground. The result is a single courtyard where Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Seljuk, Artuqid, Aq Qoyunlu and Ottoman layers meet.

Architecture & Artefacts

Its plan is drawn directly from the Great Mosque of Damascus, which Malik-Shah had restored a few years earlier: a broad prayer hall of three aisles running parallel to the qibla wall, a large rectangular courtyard, and two tiers of arcades all echo that Syrian model. Yet the use of local black basalt, thick piers instead of round columns, and the absence of a central dome give the building a distinctive Mesopotamian character. The arcades reuse Byzantine spolia — columns, Corinthian capitals and vine-scroll friezes — while the celebrated reliefs of a lion locked in combat with a bull on the east and west façades rank among the most photographed details.

Complex & Religious Significance

Together with the adjoining Mesudiye and Zinciriye madrasas it forms a külliye complex, cited as one of the oldest institutions to teach all four Sunni schools of law, and some sources honour it as the fifth holiest site in Islam, able to hold up to 5,000 worshippers.

Visiting & Access

For visitors it is the indispensable anchor of any GAP cultural tour. Agencies favour it because it sits at the crossroads of the old-city walking route and, paired with the Hasan Pasha Han directly opposite, delivers both a spiritual and a culinary pause in one stop. The average visit runs 30-45 minutes: guides interpret the courtyard, prayer hall and inscriptions before the group crosses to the han for tea or breakfast. Within a short walk lie the Four-Legged Minaret, the Sipahi Bazaar, the Syriac, Armenian and Chaldean churches and the poets' house museums. The best photographs are taken in the morning, when raking light catches the arcades at the courtyard's northwest corner, the sundial section and the polychrome stone façade.

Access is easy: cars use the Dağ Kapı Square car park while tour coaches park at Dağ Kapı or outside the Mardin Gate, from where the mosque is a flat five-to-ten-minute walk. The largely level stone courtyard makes wheelchair access reasonable, though some thresholds and steps may need assistance. The most comfortable seasons are spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October); in high summer midday heat can exceed 40°C, so morning or late-afternoon visits are advised. Peak season falls on spring religious holidays and summer weekends. As an active place of worship, visits may be limited during prayer times and modest dress with a headscarf is expected.