Zagan Pasha Mosque ( tr, Zağnospaşa Camii) is a historic

mosque 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, ...

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in Turkey and is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 338,936. Between 1341–1922, it was the capital of Karasi. History Close to mo ...

, northwest Turkey. It is known as the place, where

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

delivered his famous "Balıkesir

Khutbah ''Khutbah'' ( ar, خطبة ''khuṭbah'', tr, hutbe) serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition. Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic traditi ...

" in 1923. The mosque was built in 1461 by

Zagan Pasha Zaganos or Zagan Pasha ( ota, زاغنوس پاشا, tr, Zağanos Paşa, sq, Zognush Pasha; fl. 1446 – 1462 or 1469) was an Albanian Ottoman military commander, with the titles and ranks of ''kapudan pasha'' and the highest military rank, ...

(fl. 1446–1462 or 1469), an Ottoman

military commander The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

and

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

origin; he was the son of the right hand of Geroge Castriot Skanderbeg -

Vrana Konti Vrana (d. 1458), historically known as Vrana Konti (literally, ''Count Vrana'') was an Albanian military leader who was distinguished in the Albanian-Turkish Wars as one of the commanders of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, of whom he was one of th ...

. Located in the city center, at Mustafa Fakıh neighborhood, it is part of a complex consisting of a tomb and a

hammam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...

. The mosque and the tomb, broke down in 1897, were rebuilt in 1908 by the

Mutasarrıf Mutasarrif or mutesarrif ( ota, متصرّف, tr, mutasarrıf) was the title used in the Ottoman Empire and places like post-Ottoman Iraq for the governor of an administrative district. The Ottoman rank of mutasarrif was established as part of a ...

(Governor) Ömer Ali Bey. It is the biggest mosque in Balıkesir. The square-plan mosque is constructed in

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

masonry. It has one main dome surrounded by four side domes, which are separated by vaults. Entrance to the mosque is through double-winged wooden doors in the north, west and east. On three sides of the mosque, in front of the doors, there is a porch with an inclined lead-coated timber roof supported by two square marble columns. The mosque has no

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

. 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 ...

is situated on the northwest corner of the building. It was donated by

Hacı Hacı is the Turkish spelling of the title and epithet Hajji. It may refer to: People * Hacı I Giray (died 1466), founder and the first ruler of the Crimean Khanate * Hacı Ahmet ( 1566), purported Turkish cartographer * Hacı Arif Bey (1831� ...

Hafız

Efendi Effendi or effendy ( tr, efendi ; ota, افندی, efendi; originally from grc-x-medieval, αφέντης ) is a title of nobility meaning ''sir'', ''lord'' or ''master'', especially in the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus''.'' The title it ...

of Arabacıoğulları, a notable family in Balıkesir. In the courtyard, two

shadirvan A shadirvan ( fa, شادروان, tr, şadırvan, ar, شاذروان) is a type of fountain that is usually built in the courtyard or near the entrance of mosques, caravanserais, khanqahs, and madrasas, with the main purpose of providing wa ...

s and a tomb are situated. Outside of the courtyard's northwest corner, there is a third shadirvan of pentagon plan. A

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

is attached on a table sitting on a short thick column at the south of the courtyard. During his visit to Balıkesir on February 7, 1923, shortly after the end of the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

(May 19, 1919 – October 11, 1922), Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, then known as Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, delivered a

khutbah ''Khutbah'' ( ar, خطبة ''khuṭbah'', tr, hutbe) serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition. Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic traditi ...

(an Islamic sermon), which became famous as the "Balıkesir Khutbah", in the mosque.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagan Pasha Mosque Ottoman mosques in Turkey Buildings and structures in Balıkesir Province 1461 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Religious buildings and structures completed in 1461 15th-century mosques Mosque buildings with domes