Göğceli Mosque () is a historic log mosque situated inside the Göğceli Cemetery in Çarşamba, Samsun, northern Turkey. Built during the

Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...

period in the 13th century, the log mosque was constructed without the use of nails.

Mosque building

Göğceli Mosque is situated inside the cemetery of the same name at Hasbahçe neighborhood in the

Çarşamba Çarşamba is a municipality and district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Its area is 774 km2, and its population is 140,664 (2022). It is in the center of the Çarşamba Plain. The mayor is Hüseyin Dündar (Independent). Ferhan Şensoy - writ ...

district of

Samsun Province Samsun Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its area is 9,725 km2, and its population is 1,368,488 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are Sinop on the northwest, Çorum on the west, Amasy ...

. According to a research carried out on the wood samples taken from the building in 1990, it was built during the second reign of Seljuk Sultan of Rûm

Kaykhusraw I Kaykhusraw I ( or Ghiyāth ad-Dīn Kaykhusraw ibn Kilij Arslān; ), the eleventh and youngest son of Kilij Arslan II, was Seljuk Sultan of Rûm. He succeeded his father in 1192, but had to fight his brothers for control of the Sultanate, losing t ...

() in 1206. In 1335, the portico underwent a restoration. The single-storey mosque was constructed forming the walls with single-piece planks stacked without the use of nails. The wall planks are interlocked at edges by double-notch joint technique. Woods of

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

and

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

were used on walls, columns, column capitals,

joist A joist is a horizontal structural member used in Framing (construction), framing to span an open space, often between Beam (structure), beams that subsequently transfer loads to vertical members. When incorporated into a floor framing system, joi ...

rafter A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as Beam (structure), steel beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof Roof shingle, shingles, ...

s and ridge-post framing. The planks of the walls are thick, wide and around long. The building measures × from the outside. It is high above the ground. The opening under the elevated floor enables ventilation and prevents moisture and decay of the structure. Thanks to the wedges under the building on the ground, it has survived earthquakes. The wooden structure can be completely moved from its place to another. The mosque underwent an extensive restoration in 2007.

Interior

The building's covered area is . Forged iron nails were used only in the connection of the column capitals to the beams and in the additions made to the rafters extending towards the portico sections for women. The roof, the northern part of which is slightly curved, is a three-shouldered roof. The roof is carried by wooden walls and

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...

s. The roof of the women's section is supported by six columns. The ornaments, dated to early and classical

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

period, are colored with vegetal paint. The mosque, still in use, has a capacity for 300 people. The cemetery around the mosque is known as the cemetery of strangers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gogceli Mosque Buildings and structures in Samsun Province Çarşamba Indigenous architecture Log buildings and structures Buildings and structures completed in 1206 Mosques completed in the 1200s Seljuk mosques in Turkey Wooden buildings and structures in Turkey