Muratlı Mosque

Muratlı Village Mosque, a wooden 19th-century mosque located in the village of Muratlı in the district of Borçka, Artvin.

It is thought to have been built between 1847 and 1864 by Aslanoğlu Ahmed Usta. It is made entirely of wood on a rubble foundation. It is the largest mosque in the region.

The interior wooden elements, especially the door leaves, pulpit and mihrab, feature rich regional woodcarving decorations. The mosque was registered in 2002 by the Trabzon Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection Regional Board.

Building features

The two‑storey mosque has a nearly square rectangular plan. It measures approximately 15.25 × 12.80 metres. Except for the minaret and the basement, it is entirely wooden. It is covered externally with a broken roof.

At its north is the last prayer space. Because of a height difference, the last prayer space is entered by a three‑step staircase. Unlike other mosques in the area, there are two wooden doors opening from the last prayer space to the sanctuary.

In the centre of the sanctuary there is a wooden mihrab, and on the right side a wooden pulpit. The sanctuary’s roof is a dome made with the bagdadi technique in the centre, covered on the sides by flat wooden ceilings. The dome is supported by seventeen wooden posts.

The original wooden minaret was destroyed during the Russian occupation and a new minaret was built in its place in 1979.

Inscriptions

On the first door opening to the sanctuary there is a prayer plaque, and on the second door an inscription with the construction date and the master’s name. The inscriptions are written in the clear thuluth script. The building also has two additional plaques, one on the pulpit and another on the protruding pavilion of the mahfil floor.

Motifs

Geometric, figurative and vegetal compositions are seen in the mosque’s decoration.

In the mosque, plant motifs such as palm, spiral branch, flowers emerging from a vase, hemp leaf, S‑shaped curves, bud rose, hyacinth, rumi, 10‑petal flower, 8‑petal flower and 7‑petal flower are used; geometric motifs such as niche, interlaced pattern, basket weave, star, fish‑scale and circle; and object motifs such as lantern, hand grasping a leg, knife with a fruit stem, coat of arms and dagger, ship, vase and ewer are employed.

Along the mihrab wall, under the window, there are railings made in the "cage technique" with a chest‑like appearance on the upper parts. A motif resembling a badge is placed on the panels of the south wall.

The mosque’s door, columns, mihrab and mahfil feature carving; the minbar has cage work and carving; the pulpit has inlay; the dome has inlay and muqarnas.