Sarayönü Mosque ( tr, Sarayönü Camii), also known as the Mosque of the Serai, is a mosque in the walled city of

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

, Cyprus, currently located in

North Nicosia North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia ( tr, Kuzey Lefkoşa ; el, Βόρεια Λευκωσία) is the capital and largest city of the ''de facto'' state of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia, and is governed b ...

. It is very close to the

Sarayönü Square Sarayönü ( el, Πλατεία του Σεραγίου), officially Atatürk Square ( tr, Atatürk Meydanı; el, Πλατεία Ατατούρκ, links=no), is a square in North Nicosia. It is the centre of the Turkish part of the city and was ...

and has historically been on the square.

History

Camille Enlart Camille Enlart (22 November 1862 – 14 February 1927) was a French archaeologist and art historian. His areas of special interest were the Middle Ages and photography. Biography Enlart initially learned painting at the Beaux-Arts de Paris, then s ...

has held that the 14th and 15th centuries, during the

Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries du ...

and Venetian rules, the site of the mosque was home to a

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

church. It had one dome and was reportedly surrounded by a graveyard, which was the site of burial of a King of Jerusalem, a Duke of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and other nobles. After the

Ottoman conquest of Cyprus Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

in 1571, an army encampment was placed at the Sarayönü Square and the Carmelite church was converted to a mosque to facilitate the worship of the soldiers. The exterior of the converted building exhibited

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

while the interior classical exhibited

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk architecture, Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influen ...

. It was named "Orduönü Mescidi" in Turkish, meaning "the

masjid A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...

of the front of the army encampment". Later during the Ottoman rule, a new mosque was built instead of the former Carmelite church. The construction date of this mosque varies: some sources put its construction at 1690–91, attributed to "Kıncı (Kılıç) Ali Pasha", while some place it at 1820–24, attributed to an "Ali Pasha". This mosque had traditional Ottoman architecture in the interior; it had a roof that was supported by two sharp arches and an undecorated

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 ...

. In 1873, A.L. Salvator, who visited the mosque, wrote that a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

with Greek inscriptions was located in the yard of the mosque, and was used for ablutions before prayer. The sarcophagus would be moved to the yard of the

Haydar Pasha Mosque Haydar Pasha Mosque ( gr, Χαϊντάρ-πασά τζαμί ''Chaintár-pasa Tzamí'', tr, Haydarpaşa Camii), formerly St. Catherine's Church, is a historic mosque in North Nicosia. It is the most important Gothic building in Nicosia after Ay ...

in 1980. The mosque was destroyed in an earthquake in January 1900. Fenton Atkinson, a British architect, drew the plans for the current mosque in the same year. Atkinson was allegedly inspired by his recollection of

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

. The construction of the current mosque began on 26 November 1901 and probably ended in 1903. After the intercommunal conflict known as the Bloody Christmas in 1963–64, Turkish Cypriots did not have a building available to conduct official marriage ceremonies. The mosque was thus converted into a marriage office. The carpets on the floor were allegedly removed and benches were allegedly placed in the mosque. In 2004, after pressure from conservative and moderate Islamist circles in Turkey, including the national newspaper '' Zaman'', it was converted back into a mosque.

Architecture

The mosque was designed in the Moorish architectural style, but also incorporates some Indian influence. Its layout, however, is rectangular and thus conforms to the traditional Cypriot style. Its front façade, showing foreign influences, is composed of five parts, with sharp horseshoe-shaped arches. The minaret, which is from the earlier Ottoman mosque, is made of stone and stands detached from the main body of the mosque.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarayonu Mosque Mosques in Nicosia 20th-century mosques Mosques in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Tourist attractions in Nicosia Mosques completed in 1903 1903 establishments in Cyprus