1390 - 1400 AD
English Text
The Yildirim Beyazit Mosque, reflecting Ottoman architecture, located in Alasehir district of Manisa province.
Construction of the mosque was started between the years 1390-1400 by the Ottoman sultan Yildirim Beyazit, but before it could be completed, the War of Ankara broke out. Yildirim Beyazit and the construction workers abandoned the construction of the mosque since they participated in the war. The mosque was completed later on by the townsfolk with a wooden roof and opened for prayer service.
Alasehir stayed under Ottoman possession for 531 consecutive years before being invaded by the Greek on June 24, 1920. The Yildirim Beyazit Mosque was burnt to the ground by the occupiers.
After the Turkish War of Independence, the mosque was renovated according to its original form, and its minaret and roof were rebuilt. The width of this mosque is twice its length, and it has a plan with 3 minaret balconies.
The Yildirim Beyazit Mosque was also a subject of the books by Evliya Çelebi.
Due to the several repairs made, many original features of the mosque had been lost, but the originality of the base of the minaret in the northwest was preserved.
Yildirim Beyazit encountered the following incident related to this mosque. Part of the people
in Alasehir, who were unhappy with the presence of the Saint Jean Church, demanded its demolition. Yildirim Beyazit did not permit the Church to be demolished. He ordered that a mosque bearing his name be built just opposite the Church, and this mosque was built. Moreover, Yildirim Beyazit demonstrated just how much he cared about free practice of religion with his following sentences: "He who wishes to go to the mosque to practice his religion may do so. He who wishes to go to the church, may go to the church. Nobody may interfere in anybody else's religion and beliefs."
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