Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Alanya / Turkey

AKBESE SULTAN MASCİDİ
It is in the castle, west of the Bedesten, about 100 meters ahead of the Süleymaniye Mosque. It was built in 1230 by Akşebe Sultan, the first commander of Alaaddin Keykubat in Alanya Castle. It is built with cut stone on the outside and brick inside and dome. It has a square plan and consists of two rooms. One of the rooms is the mosque and the other is the tomb where Akşebe Sultan’s tomb is located. There are three more tombs in the tomb. It is understood from the old ruins that the apse of the mosque is tiled. In his inscription “God knows the gaibs of the earth and the heavens. Only those who believe in Allah and the Last Day build mosques of Allah. In 1230, in the days of the supreme sultan Alaaddin, his weak servant, in need of God’s mercy, had Akbeşe built ”. A few meters away from the mosque, there is a cylindrical minaret with a brick body on a rubble stone base. There is an interesting view of the minaret ending in the cheers.

ANDIZLI MOSQUE
It is in Tophane District. The mosque, which takes its name from the andız tree next to it, was built in 1277 by Emir Bedrüddin. It is also called Emir Bedrüddin Mosque. It has the original architectural features of the Seljuk period. It is made of cut stone and has a low minaret. Its pulpit reflects one of the finest examples of Seljuk wood carving art. The mosque can be reached through the lower door, next to Kızılkule.

SITTI ZEYNEP TOMB
It is on a big rock on the way to the Castle. It is estimated to be from the Seljuk or Ottoman period. The building consists of two rooms with a square plan and a dome. There is a long sarcophagus in one of the rooms; the other room is empty. Evliya Çelebi writes that the building is a Bektashi lodge. There is no exact information about Sitti Zeynep. The name of the foundation belonging to the tomb is mentioned as “Sitti Zeynep bin’t Zeynülabidin” in the Ottoman foundation registers during the period of Suleiman the Magnificent. It is believed that the person whose grave is in the tomb is a saint. Three sarcophagi, two meters long each, were carved into the rock where the tomb is located. Ancient tombs were used as water tanks for a period.

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