Pasha Ferhad's Mosque, Pécs

The remains of Ferhád Pasha's mosque are located in the centre of Pécs, on the site of the demolished Kazinczy Street number 4. Archaeological excavations uncovered the remains of a twin bath, a residential building and a dervish monastery, as well as a Muslim cemetery that once spread around the mosque. Currently only a huge pit can be seen of all this, and the site is not open to the public.

History

“Ferhád, the Pasha of Buda, died in 1590 as a murder victim, apparently strangled by rebelling soldiers. The foundation’s sacred district may have been built in Pécs around 1570–1580. In today’s Király Street, besides the mosque there was also a staff residential building, a dervish monastery, and a twin bath, the latter in the place of a later downtown department store that was at one time used as a saltpeter factory. The minaret of Ferhád’s mosque still existed in the 18th century.” In 1724 the cornerstone of a Dominican monastery and church was laid here, but it was not completed until 1771.

The neighbourhood spreading around the mosque was called Ferhád Pasha’s quarter. According to Evlija Cselebi it was a beautiful mosque, but few visited it; he describes its minaret as tall and with a tomb‑shaped top.

A condominium is being built on the mosque’s site. The prayer house was also intended to be rebuilt for 2010, when Pécs would be European Capital of Culture together with Istanbul, but this did not materialise. The demolition of a restaurant building revealed the original walls of the former mosque’s associated structures, as well as one standing wall. Unfortunately the remaining brickwork was broken through several times after the Turkish period, so the characteristic donkey‑arched windows are only difficult to extract.

According to the latest news the city plans a Turkish cultural tourism centre here, presenting the reconstructed wall remains. There would also be a functioning Turkish bath, hotel and shop, with basic Turkish foodstuffs and handicraft products.