![Antalya - Kesik Minare - Temple](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Antalya_-_Kesik_Minare_-_Temple.jpg)
The Kesik Minare Cami (Broken Minaret Mosque), Korkut Cami or Cumanın Cami standing in the streets of Kaleiçi (Old
Antalya
Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
) in southern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, was originally built as a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
temple in the 2nd century AD. In the 7th century, it was converted into a
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
church in honor of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, but it was heavily damaged in the 7th century during the
Arab invasions. In the 9th century it was repaired again. The
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
was added in the early 13th century when the
Sultanate of Rum
fa, سلجوقیان روم ()
, status =
, government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262)
, year_start = 1077
, year_end = 1308
, p1 = By ...
established their rule in Antalya and converted the church into a mosque. In 1361, when the crusader
king of Cyprus
The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Anat ...
took Antalya from the Seljuks, it was
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
a church again, only to become a mosque once more during the rule of
Şehzade Korkut, son of the Ottoman sultan
Bayezid II
Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...
. The main building was destroyed in a fire in 1800, but the surviving minaret, located today on Kaleiçi Hespçi Street, is known as the Kesik Minare.
Restoration work began in 2018. In 2019 the top cone and roof were restored. The structure officially reopened as a mosque in 2021 on the 5th of March, the day Antalya was conquered by the
Seljuk Empire
The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turko-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total are ...
. It welcomed worshippers for the first time in nearly 125 years.
References
{{Authority control
Byzantine church buildings in Turkey
Mosques converted from churches in the Ottoman Empire
Ancient Roman temples
Tourist attractions in Antalya
7th-century churches in Turkey
Seljuk architecture
Former mosques in Turkey
Muratpaşa District