Abdurrahman Gazi Mosque

The Abdurrahman Gazi Mosque forms part of a tomb complex on the lower slopes of Palandoken Mountain, a few kilometers southeast of central Erzurum. The site is named for Abdurrahman Gazi, a figure whose exact identity is debated; some accounts identify him as a warrior who fell during the early Arab-Islamic campaigns around Erzurum in the seventh century. The shrine is first documented in Ottoman tax registers from 1540 as a dervish lodge. A marble inscription records that the sanctuary was rebuilt in 1796 at the request of Ayse Hatun, wife of governor Yusuf Ziya Pasha. The present twin-domed tomb chamber, with separate entrances once used by men and women, dates to a 1983 reconstruction, while the surrounding mosque, fountains added in 1987, and tilework from 1996 reflect later additions. Today the complex functions as one of Erzurum's principal places of pilgrimage and faith tourism.