Takyeciler Mosque

Takyeciler Mosque is located in the city of Tokat, on Sulu Street opposite Yağıbasan Madrasa, adjacent to the Arastalı Bazaar. The mosque has no inscription regarding its patron or construction date. Although there is no exact date for its construction, the similarity of its plan to multi-domed 15th‑century Ottoman mosques and the material, technical and stylistic features observed on the minaret base indicate that it is a 15th‑century structure.

The mosque underwent repairs in 1871‑72 and during the years of the First World War. During the First World War repair, lead could not be found to cover the domes, so they were closed with a broken roof; in the 1964‑65 repair by the General Directorate of Foundations, the walls, supports and covering were renewed without changing the main scheme. The fountain attached to the west of the mosque was also renewed in 1894‑95 according to its inscription. Built on a sloping site, the structure is a multi‑domed Ottoman mosque with a nearly rectangular plan close to a square. The prayer hall entered through doors on the west and north façades is divided into nine units by pointed arches spanning the central independent four pillars and eight wall pillars, each unit being covered by a pendentive‑transitioned dome.

The domes sit on an octagonal drum. The drums of the domes on the mihrab axis are higher than the others. In front of the entrance on the western façade, a space considered as the last congregation area has been added. The few windows are kept very small. On the western façade there are two, on the north façade and adjacent to the bazaar on the east façade there are three-level triple windows, and on the southern façade a double‑row window arrangement is seen. The square‑based, cylindrical, single‑shrine minaret attached to the southwest corner has been renovated above the base. The body walls of the mosque and the dome drums have been renovated with rubble stone. The piers and arches supporting the domes are built of cut stone, and brick material is used in the domes with window arches and frames. The material of the mihrab and minbar is also stone. On the minaret base, the apparently untouched part of the structure, an irregular alternating technique with rubble stone and brick has been applied. On the arch surfaces of the free-standing piers in the middle of the prayer hall, traces of incised decoration are visible.