Han Camii (Yevpatoriya)Yevpatoriya, Ukraine
Han Camii, the Tatar Khan Mosque, is located in the fortified city of Gözleve, along the southwest coast of the Crimean peninsula. It was commissioned in 1552 by the Devlet Giray Khan I (1551-1577) as a symbol of his victory soon after he was hoisted into power with the help of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman I. The architect of the mosque is Ottoman chief architect Sinan.
The mosque is aligned with qibla along the north-south axis. It is composed of a rectangular prayer hall, a five-bay portico and two minarets. The wide nave is covered with a central dome about six meters in diameter. Resting on the northern wall and four heavy piers inside the prayer hall, the dome is supported by a semi-dome of the same radius to its south. Double-story galleries flank the nave to the east and west and covered with three equal-size domes. The mosque with its portico measures about fourteen and a half meters per side on the exterior.
Preceding the prayer hall to the north, the five-bay portico is closed on both sides and has stone columns with muqarnas capitals supporting pointed arches. The entrance bay is marked with a taller dome and an additional archway. The monumental portal of the mosque is centered on the portico façade and is flanked by two outdoor mihrabs of different size. Secondary portals are placed on the east and west sides of the prayer hall adjoining the two minarets.
Inside, the qibla end of the eastern gallery is sectioned off as a royal lodge for the Khans' private use and is accessed with a private stairway from the exterior. Apart from the sixteen windows at the base of the dome, the prayer hall is illuminated with two tiers of windows along the walls and arched windows pierced into the tympana of the dome's supporting arches. There is no trace of the original painted decoration of the white-washed interior, which is decorated simply with carved muqarnas on the pendentives of the central dome and the qibla semi-dome. The cut-stone walls are painted in sections on the exterior and lead panels cover the outside of domes.
The mosque has seen multiple repairs through history, including the reconstruction of its minarets. The last extensive restoration was conducted by a Russian team in the late 1970s, after which the mosque housed a museum of archaeology. Following the resettlement of the Crimean Tatars in the area in 1990, the mosque was restored to its religious function.
The Royal Tomb of Giray Khans is mentioned in traveler's accounts as being located behind the mosque's qibla wall but has not survived to our day.
Sources:
Aslanapa, Oktay. Kirim ve Kuzey Azerbaycan'da Türk Eserleri. Istanbul: Baha Matbaasi, 1979.18.
Aslanapa, Oktay. 1983. "Kirim'da Türk Eserleri". Emel Dergisi 183. http://www.ismailgaspirali.org/yazi.asp?yazi_no=113505. [Accessed November 21, 2005; Inaccessible on September 13, 2013]
Necipoglu, Gülru. The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. London: Reaktion Books. 2005. 265-267.
Yenisehirlioglu, Filiz. Türkiye Disindaki Osmanli Mimari Yapitlari (Ottoman Architectural Works Outside Turkey). Ankara: T.C. Disisleri Bakanligi. 1989. 111 - 114.
"Crimean Tatar Architecture". International Committee for Crimea. Website. http://www.iccrimea.org/monuments/monuments.html. [Accessed: March 11, 2005]
"The Crimean Sites". Taurical National University. Website. http://www.ccssu.crimea.ua/eng/crimea/sights/. [Accessed November 21, 2005]
Han Camii, the Tatar Khan Mosque, is located in the fortified city of Gözleve, along the southwest coast of the Crimean peninsula. It was commissioned in 1552 by the Devlet Giray Khan I (1551-1577) as a symbol of his victory soon after he was hoisted into power with the help of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman I. The architect of the mosque is Ottoman chief architect Sinan.
The mosque is aligned with qibla along the north-south axis. It is composed of a rectangular prayer hall, a five-bay portico and two minarets. The wide nave is covered with a central dome about six meters in diameter. Resting on the northern wall and four heavy piers inside the prayer hall, the dome is supported by a semi-dome of the same radius to its south. Double-story galleries flank the nave to the east and west and covered with three equal-size domes. The mosque with its portico measures about fourteen and a half meters per side on the exterior.
Preceding the prayer hall to the north, the five-bay portico is closed on both sides and has stone columns with muqarnas capitals supporting pointed arches. The entrance bay is marked with a taller dome and an additional archway. The monumental portal of the mosque is centered on the portico façade and is flanked by two outdoor mihrabs of different size. Secondary portals are placed on the east and west sides of the prayer hall adjoining the two minarets.
Inside, the qibla end of the eastern gallery is sectioned off as a royal lodge for the Khans' private use and is accessed with a private stairway from the exterior. Apart from the sixteen windows at the base of the dome, the prayer hall is illuminated with two tiers of windows along the walls and arched windows pierced into the tympana of the dome's supporting arches. There is no trace of the original painted decoration of the white-washed interior, which is decorated simply with carved muqarnas on the pendentives of the central dome and the qibla semi-dome. The cut-stone walls are painted in sections on the exterior and lead panels cover the outside of domes.
The mosque has seen multiple repairs through history, including the reconstruction of its minarets. The last extensive restoration was conducted by a Russian team in the late 1970s, after which the mosque housed a museum of archaeology. Following the resettlement of the Crimean Tatars in the area in 1990, the mosque was restored to its religious function.
The Royal Tomb of Giray Khans is mentioned in traveler's accounts as being located behind the mosque's qibla wall but has not survived to our day.
Sources:
Aslanapa, Oktay. Kirim ve Kuzey Azerbaycan'da Türk Eserleri. Istanbul: Baha Matbaasi, 1979.18.
Aslanapa, Oktay. 1983. "Kirim'da Türk Eserleri". Emel Dergisi 183. http://www.ismailgaspirali.org/yazi.asp?yazi_no=113505. [Accessed November 21, 2005; Inaccessible on September 13, 2013]
Necipoglu, Gülru. The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. London: Reaktion Books. 2005. 265-267.
Yenisehirlioglu, Filiz. Türkiye Disindaki Osmanli Mimari Yapitlari (Ottoman Architectural Works Outside Turkey). Ankara: T.C. Disisleri Bakanligi. 1989. 111 - 114.
"Crimean Tatar Architecture". International Committee for Crimea. Website. http://www.iccrimea.org/monuments/monuments.html. [Accessed: March 11, 2005]
"The Crimean Sites". Taurical National University. Website. http://www.ccssu.crimea.ua/eng/crimea/sights/. [Accessed November 21, 2005]