KOCA SEYFULLAH MOSQUE

Some settlements in the Anatolian geography have developed administratively along with their growth over time. In these settlements, which were small villages but became the central villages of the district and even the center of the district, some of the architectural monuments disappeared over time, and some were rebuilt on expanded lands. Therefore, they reflect the stylistic characteristics of the period in which they were rebuilt. It is possible to come across such unknown examples in different parts of our country. By revealing and introducing these structures, the main framework in the relations between palace art and provincial art will probably not change. However, since these structures were not few in number in Ottoman art and were built by local artists using local resources, different techniques could also be introduced. It is also possible to see the effects of repairs made over time on the work.

Kütahya and its surroundings fell to the Turks for the third time in 1233, during the reign of Alaeddin Keykubat, and have been under Turkish rule since then. This region, which was in the hands of the Germiyans since 1277, was captured by the Ottomans for the first time in 1381 and for the second time in 1429. Şaphane continued its existence as a village in the 16th century. The population of Şaphane, which is understood to be a township in the 1296/1879 yearbook, is 1388 people, all of whom are Muslims. The economy of the district, where there is a factory processing the alum mine from which it takes its name, is largely based on agriculture and animal husbandry. The population of the district center, which consists of seven neighborhoods, is 5456 people according to the 2000 census. It was elevated to district status by law no. 3392 dated 19.06.1987. The surroundings of the district center are covered with forests.

This article aims to contribute to the field of art history by introducing an example from the district mentioned above. Regarding the history of the building, the name of the building does not coincide with the name mentioned in the inscription on the north face of the middle carrier on the qibla side of the building. The marble inscription, measuring 0.40×0.58 m, is dated 1114 H./1702. This date is not included in the records regarding Şaphane in the Archives of the General Directorate of Foundations. However, the name Seyfullah Ağa (Seyfullah Çelebi) Mosque is found in a record dated 02.12.1223 AH/19 January 1809 AD in the aforementioned archive. However, this date does not coincide with the decorative style of the mosque. The style of the building; It is observed that the calligraphy samples above the eastern entrance and mihrab niche are parallel to the date 1310 H./1892 A.D. on the panels. If the marble inscription in the building belongs to a mosque, the existence of a mosque on this land at that time can be accepted. On the date given with Seyfullah Ağa, from whom the building was named, this person must have repaired the first mosque here or had a new one built in its place. It is estimated that the current mosque, which was built in 1310 AH/1892 AD, was named after Seyfullah Ağa. The mosque experienced some problems with its ground during the 1970 Gediz earthquake, and was subsequently strengthened by supporting it with iron. The date 1973 in Arabic numerals on the hand-drawn calligraphy panel above the entrance to the harim shows that some renovations were made to the decorations after the earthquake. It is not fully understood how faithfully the renovation was carried out.

The difficult terrain in Şaphane reveals itself in the land and construction of the mosque. The slope of the land was cut on the north side and an irregular rectangular closed narthex was built in the area obtained. This section was continued from the sides with walls extending towards the qibla, and there were shops between the walls. The floor of the mosque has been extended in the direction of the qibla from the shops. The plane, which continues from north to south, is supported by wooden poles. These wooden poles were strengthened with reinforced concrete material after the 1970 earthquake. The beams and floors laid on the poles here are supported with iron material horizontally and vertically. The floor of the mosque was formed with the boards placed on the beams and floors. The borders of the harim were determined from three directions with thick wooden poles placed on the base carriers of this floor, the main skeleton was established with the four thick poles in the middle placed on the base carriers, and a wooden hipped roof was nailed on top of the harim and covered with tiles. Stone material was probably used on the southern wall of the narthex of the mosque and the northern wall of the harim. The slope of the land and the thickness of the walls suggest this. The east, south and west walls of the harim are 0.20 m thick between wooden poles and were formed by placing pine tree barks and plastering them on both sides. There are three lower windows on the east and west walls, one upper on the northernmost walls, and four windows on the qibla wall, which contribute to eliminating the monotony on the facades where they are located.

The mosque has two entrance gates. One of these is the two-winged wooden door with a straight lintel in the northwest corner, which opens directly to the harim. The other is a more monumental wooden door with a low arch and two wings, which provides entrance to the closed narthex in the northeast corner. These entrances are reached by stairs containing many steps due to the location of the land. A rectangular porch extending westward was built in front of the entrance in the northwest, while a square porch with two columns was built in front of the entrance in the northeast. The wooden pillars with round stone bases in front of the door on the east façade have simple capitals. The corners of the wooden material connecting the poles were arranged in a concave manner, thus reducing the stiffness of the corners and the opposite sides were terminated with volutes. The wooden ceiling is animated with slats. There is an oval window above this low arched entrance. 

When you enter through the door, you reach the irregular rectangular shaped narthex. This area is illuminated by a total of six windows: a vertical rectangular window next to the oval window above the entrance in the east, three horizontal rectangular windows above in the north, and a very small window on the western wall. The minaret entrance is located at the southern end of the western wall. The ceiling of this section is wooden. There are two entrances to the harim from the last congregation place. While the one closest to the minaret entrance is in the form of a simple transition, the one closer to the eastern entrance has a round arch. The two-winged wooden wings of this door are divided into rectangles of different sizes. When you enter the harim, there is a mahfil built on wooden poles in front of the entrance, with stairs right next to the entrances. Harim has a rectangular plan parallel to the qibla. The space is covered internally with a wooden ceiling with different geometric shapes created with slats in the direction of diagonal corners and parallel to the altar. 

The spaces between the slats are painted with different colors of paint to emphasize the geometric shapes. In the middle of the four thick pillars that support the roof freely from the inside, there is a flat false dome, smaller than the area formed by the pillars. The surface of the dome, with a six-pointed star in the middle, is divided into slices with pencil work, each slice is decorated with an identical curved branch ornament, and the remaining surfaces are painted in different colors. On the mihrab side of this dome, a hub with geometric shapes developing around an eight-pointed star is placed on the ceiling. The northern wall of the harim was whitewashed with white paint. The east and west walls are divided into panels of different sizes, starting from the windows under the mahfil towards the qibla. The qibla wall was decorated in the same way by dividing it into panels. The boundaries of the panels are determined by the recessed pillars and windows in the walls. There are two capital "و" (vav) letters facing each other, in the same direction of the window on the qibla side of the western door, which provides direct access to the harim, and under the mahfil, and they are written in a decorative manner. 

After the pole half buried in the wall, there is first a seated clock, then a tree and a small piece of land, all in the same panel. Above these, there is the inscription "Ya Hazret-i Bilal-i Habeşî" stacked in a circular medallion with decorated edges. Above the window, in the area that extends to its width and extends to the ceiling, there is a decoration with curved branches of baroque character. It is understood that the color scheme of the empty field around this decoration, which is dominated by brown, was changed, but the motif was not touched. The large area between the window and the wooden pole half buried in the wall was handled as a single panel, and a tree was placed at the converging ends of the land pieces in the lower corners. A slice of watermelon with a knife on it is depicted standing in the space between them. There is the inscription "Kelime-i Tevhid" above the trees, and the inscription "Israfil" in the round medallion above it. 

On the panel between the half-buried pillar and the other window, there is a vase with flowers, a wide base, a foot and two handles, depicted as standing in a void above the land below. In the round medallion above this, there is the inscription "Michael". Although the decoration concept seen on the panel above the window is the same as the first, green and its shades are used here. After placing a piece of land on the floor of the southernmost panel of this wall, there is a watermelon and its plant next to the window, contrary to the law of gravity, and a live flower on the ground a little south of it. Above the panel, there is the word "Gabriel" in a round medallion, similar to its previous counterparts.

In addition to the last panel mentioned above, the panel at the western end of the wall where the altar is located is located between the southwest corner and the window. At the top of this panel, whose floor is arranged similarly to the other panel, there is a double-handled vase with flowers coming out of it, which is not connected to the floor. At the top of the panel, there is the word "Azrael" in a round medallion with the same features as the others. On the panel above the window and as wide as the window, floral decorations with curved branches made in brown on a blue background can be seen. The surface of the panel, except for the decoration, is painted in light brown. The next panel is only white due to the pulpit. The panel located between the wooden pole and the window to the west of the altar creates a backdrop and depicts a large date tree; The trunk color of the tree covers a large area on the ground. The word "Allah" is written on the tree, whose branches open to both sides. 

There are baroque style floral decorations with curved branches on the window in question, but the background and motifs are not clearly separated due to the intensity of brown and its tones. In the panel between the window and the mihrab, there are three cypress trees on the floor, large in the middle and small on the sides. There is a small writing band on these trees. The panel to the east of the mihrab is also decorated with similar motifs and there is a writing band here too. The area above the window is decorated with baroque-style floral ornaments with curved branches, dominated by brown and its tones. In the next panel, there is a tree imitating the date tree on the west side of the mihrab and the word "Muhammad" is above it. On the panel to the east of the pole half-buried in the wall, a small hill was created while creating the ground, and a mosque motif with a single dome and two minarets was placed on it. Additionally, small tree motifs are lined up from the sides of the panel towards the mosque. 

There is the inscription "Ebubekir" in the round medallion similar to the others above. In the usual order, the baroque style curved branch decoration above the window was made with shades of brown on a blue background, the remaining spaces were filled with light brown, creating the appearance of short grass at the bottom. After creating a piece of land with the colors and patterns determined on the panel at the corner of the window, a small-leaved tree was placed on it. The word "Omar" is written on the round medallion on top of the tree. If we continue starting from the southern corner of the eastern wall, a sloping land was created from south to north and two small cypress trees were placed on this slope. Slightly above them, a double-handled vase with a wide base and naturalistic flowers is placed on the green paint in the shape of a boat. There is the word "Osman" in the round medallion above. On the panel above the window, there is a baroque style decoration with curved branches in shades of brown on a green background. In the wide panel between the window and the semi-buried pillar in the wall, land was created to be higher at the corners, a broken vineyard was engraved in the southern corner, and another tree was engraved near the middle of the land. 

Above them is the word "Kelime-i Tevhid", and above them is the word "Ali" in a round medallion. A single orange tree is depicted in the middle between the half-buried pole and the window, after creating the land at the base. The word "Hasan" can be read on the round medallion above it. On the panel above the window, there is a baroque style floral decoration with curved branches in light brown on dark brown. The surrounding spaces are painted in light brown. A piece of land was placed on the south side of the last panel facing north from the window and a small vineyard was placed on it. In the middle of the panel, flowers are placed in a vase with legs and double handles, which is placed on a green boat-shaped object that seems to be suspended in the air, contrary to the law of gravity. To the north of this, a clock with legs is drawn, positioned symmetrically with the one opposite it. A round medallion was placed above the panel and the word "Hüseyin" was written inside. When we look at the detail of the decoration inside the false dome, in the middle there is a circle with a red background, a six-pointed star with its ends protruding from the circle, and in the middle of it, a smaller relief circle made of plaster or wood, animated with lines. There are naturalistic flowers at the ends of the star's arms. 

The dome is divided into six parts, with elements that become circular around the flowers, then smoothly descend to the skirt of the dome and become round again, with naturalistic flowers inside the circles. The floor of each piece is painted in different colors and is equipped with ornaments with curved branches that expand from top to bottom according to the shape of the area created, appearing to be symmetrical but actually being asymmetrical. Lamps hanging from above were placed in the gaps in the middle of the decorations, and decorations with naturalistic flowers were placed in the bean-shaped elements below them.

The mihrab of the mosque stands out with a round recess and the arch of the mosque is semicircular. Inside the niche, there is a yellow curtain motif that opens to both sides. In the middle there is a lamp hanging down. There are columns on both sides of the mihrab, and these columns are without capitals. Starting from these columns, there are baroque "C" motifs with their ends facing each other. Above, there are "C" motifs with their backs facing each other, and the area formed by these motifs narrows upwards and is terminated with a quotation mark at the top. All of these elements with plastic effect must be made of plaster. At the bottom of the figure, there is a verse written in a rectangular panel. “Mashallah” was written on an oval cartridge on a vase placed in a writing frame. This section is completely painted in green and decorated with floral decorations with curved branches. Some of the leaves of the decoration are in the shape of the handle of the vase.

To the west of the mihrab, there is a wooden pulpit centered on a pole embedded in the wall, covering the panel between the window. The pulpit is attached to a bench with two legs where it leans against the wall. It contacts the floor with the closed skirting board part. The triangular shaped side mirror above the skirting board has geometric decorations dominated by hexagons. Although these decorations give an openwork appearance, the transom is closed. Railings are also closed, although they have geometric shapes on their surfaces. There is a pyramidal cone with an octagonal rim on top of the balcony.

The rostrum in the middle of the mosque, which is connected to the southeast one of the wooden poles standing freely on all four sides of the false dome, is also wooden. The base of the rostrum touches the stone base of the pole and expands upwards from there as a five-pointed shape. This base also prepares the ground for the five-sided railing. There are carved floral decorations on the rectangular outer surfaces of the closed railing edges. There is an asymmetrical vegetal decoration with curved branches coming from a tulip-shaped vase in the lower center of each side. Of these decorations, only the one facing the north remained intact, while the others were broken. The upper part of the rostrum is terminated with horizontal profiles.

The entrance of the minaret is in the southwest corner of the narthex and appears to have a square base. The pedestal and shoe parts were built with cut stone. The shape of the shoe part could not be seen due to the construction around it. The base of the balcony with closed railings on top of the cylindrical body made of bricks is in the shape of five rows of hedgehogs. The honeycomb is also cylindrical and is covered with a pyramidal cone.

Koca Seyfullah Mosque, located in a cute district of Anatolia and probably built during the Ottoman period when it had township status, is a building that attracts attention with its construction technique and materials. Examples whose main frame is made of wood and whose walls are made of tree trunks or wood are mostly seen in the Black Sea Region. The use of wooden materials in the construction of this mosque is due to the fact that Şaphane is surrounded by forests. The use of pine bark on the walls can be considered as an indicator of practical intelligence. However, since it cannot be seen how this material was used in the wall phenomenon, no explanation can be made.

The transverse rectangular plan of the mosque reflects the repetition of a plan type frequently used in Ottoman architecture. The fact that the place is covered with wood should also be evaluated in this context. The false dome in the middle of the upper cover of the harim has a symbolic meaning. Similar dome examples are also seen in the surrounding area, and Western art motifs and naturalistic flower motifs were used together in the decorations inside the dome.

The wall decorations outside the mosque harim are also in Ottoman architecture in the 18th century with the influence of Western art. It should be evaluated within the framework of the differentiation seen in the second half of the century. Wall surfaces are divided into panels, and it is understood that the positions of wooden poles and windows are effective in creating these panels. When the pictures inside the panels are examined, leaving large gaps on the surfaces shows that the composition was not constructed well. In addition, the repetition of the ground construction in the paintings indicates that the artist does not yet have the experience to create different backgrounds.

The architectural depiction to the east of the mihrab, which lacks the concept of depth and has a single façade, can also be evaluated in the same way. This shows that the patron and the artist wanted to produce a work similar to the examples seen in different parts of the country, but it also suggests that the artist may be local. The hand-carved decorations on the altar of the mosque were also made with a not very old painting. The curtain motif in the niche is a motif seen in Ottoman altars with the influence of Western art.

The decorations above the altar are a point that should be emphasized. The plastic "C" motifs, probably made of plaster, reflect the influence of Western art. However, these motifs are simpler and more differentiated than the plaster decorations seen on the mihrabs in the Aegean Region. The reason for this difference can be explained by the fact that the mosque examined is located in the Inner Aegean and its artist may be local. It is likely that the wooden pulpit and lectern were made by local artists. While the general appearance of the podium reflects the influence of Western art, it is a pity that the decorations on its railing have been damaged. There is no unusual application in the location and material of the minaret. It is thought that it may have been built by a master from the nearby area.

As a result, the Koca Seyfullah Mosque, located in the Inner Aegean, draws attention with its wooden main frame and the use of pine bark in the wall between the carriers of this frame. The decorations of the mosque are a product of folk art in the context of the patron and the artist. The use of plaster as a regional material is also noteworthy in this work, which shows the influence of Western art. Therefore, late Ottoman architecture in terms of structure, material, technique and sense of decoration.