Kale Camii (Sivas)

Sivas, Türkiye

Kale Camii (Citadel Mosque), also known as Mehmet Bey Camii, is located in the heart of the old city of Sivas, Turkey, just north of Çifte Minareli Medrese and Şifaiye Medrese. The name Kale Camii derives from the location of the mosque, which would have been enclosed by the city's lower citadel, which also encompassed the two aforementioned madrasas and other government buildings. A foundation inscription attributes the building to the year 1580/988 AH. Its patron is likely Ottoman governor of Sivas Mahmud Paşa, the father of Mehmet Bey.

The mosque takes the form of a large domed square preceded on the north side by an enclosed portico one bay deep and three wide, each covered by a dome (the original portico appears to be lost, this enclosed porch being a later addition). A cylindrical minaret with a balcony supported by a tapering corbel and conical roof rises from a square base in the northwestern corner of the building. The dome itself is carried on a duodecagonal drum, which in turn rests on a square block that has been shaved at the corners near the top to create an octagon. 

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