Beyazıt Mosque

The Beyazıt Mosque in central Bolu, also known locally as the Yıldırım Beyazıt Mosque, traces its origin to a structure built in 1389 under Yıldırım Bayezid as part of an early religious complex in the city. The original building, believed to have been largely built of wood, was destroyed by fire in 1891 and rebuilt in 1899 in a simpler, single-domed form. The mosque then suffered serious structural damage in the severe Bolu-Gerede earthquake of 1944, one of the most destructive of the Republican era in the region, and was repaired afterward to reach its present appearance. Despite these repeated losses and rebuildings, the mosque has remained in continuous use as a place of worship in Bolu's historic center for well over six centuries, its layered history reflecting the pattern of rebuilding common to Ottoman-era mosques in this seismically active part of Anatolia.