Gülabi Ahmed Paşa Camii

Gülabi Ahmed Paşa Mosque, also known as Paşa Mosque or Beyazıt Mosque, is a historic Ottoman-era mosque located within the boundaries of the Central district of Kırklareli Province.

History

The mosque, whose foundation charter is not found, was first commissioned in the 16th century by Sultan Bayezid II and, after suffering extensive damage, was thoroughly repaired by the Minister of the Mines (Maadin) Külâbî Ahmet Paşa or rebuilt by Beylerbeyi Gülabi Ahmet Paşa in Hijri year 1002 (Gregorian 1593-1594). Ali Rıza Dursunkaya provides the information that Ahmet Paşa, who is buried in the mosque's cemetery, died in the mentioned year. In the mosque's cemetery there are inscribed tombstones dating from the Ottoman period as well as uninscribed menhir-type tombstones.

Also, the neighborhood where it is located was historically called "Sultan Beyazıt" neighborhood after Sultan Bayezid II, the mosque's first patron.

The minaret, destroyed during the Balkan Wars, was rebuilt in 1958. According to the plaque hung on the mosque wall after the renovation carried out by the General Directorate of Foundations in 2008, the fountain known as Paşa Fountain, adjacent to the garden wall of the building, was commissioned in 1622 by Gülabi Ahmet Paşa.

It was registered on 20.04.1990 by decision number 646. The mosque is open for worship today.

Architecture

The rectangular-plan building with a traditional tiled broken roof has walls composed of one row of cut stone and two rows of brickwork. Its rectangular windows have wooden frames. On the façade containing the mihrab there are two rows of windows. Access to the structure is from the northwest façade. In 1958, a single-domed minaret made of Kütahya stone was added adjacent to the northeast façade of the building. The wooden women's gallery and minbar are not original.