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Touzla MosqueLarnaca, Cyprus
This rectangular plan mosque is located in Touzla, a mahalle (neighborhood) of Larnaca. It is a converted medieval church, with a portico, minaret, mihrab and minbar added during the Ottoman period. The mosque was put under the care of the Vakif of Silahtar Mehmet Aga in 1823/1238 AH.
Recent archaeological excavations have revealed that the medieval church converted into the present mosque was itself constructed on the site of a basilica building with three apses. Various frescoes have been discovered under the whitewash of the prayer hall, previously the nave of the church. Conservation and restoration of the building took place from 1999-2001.
Two thick masonry buttresses are built against the south wall, with a third at the southeast corner. The walls are limestone, with wood frame windows, and the floors are of local marble. The minaret is built at the northwest corner, with a trunk built in two stages sitting on a large, solid base. The mosque courtyard was formerly used as graveyard, but it has been cleared; three of the gravestones are preserved in the prayer hall. A large circular cistern for ablution was once located at the northeast corner of the mosque, but is no longer extant.
The prayer hall is rectangular in shape, roofed with cross vaults. A window and former south door of the church were walled up and plastered to form a niche to create the mihrab. Above the mihrab is a painting of a representation of an idealized mosque, in red, green, and yellow, with an inscription below.
Source:
Bağışkan, Tuncer. Ottoman, Islamic and Islamised monuments in Cyprus, 276-277. Nicosia, Cyprus: Cyprus Turkish Education Foundation, 2009.
Cyprus Civil Engineers and Architects Association (CCEAA) & Chamber of Cyprus Turkish Architects. "Tuzla Mosque." Accessed September 5, 2014. http://www.cyprustemples.com/templedetails.asp?id=430
Location
Larnaca, Cyprus
Events
medieval church converted to mosque, 1823/1238 AH
Style Periods
1299-1922
Additional Names
Tuzla Mosque
Variant
Touzla Camii
Variant
Site Types
religious
Materials/Techniques
Touzla MosqueLarnaca, Cyprus
This rectangular plan mosque is located in Touzla, a mahalle (neighborhood) of Larnaca. It is a converted medieval church, with a portico, minaret, mihrab and minbar added during the Ottoman period. The mosque was put under the care of the Vakif of Silahtar Mehmet Aga in 1823/1238 AH.
Recent archaeological excavations have revealed that the medieval church converted into the present mosque was itself constructed on the site of a basilica building with three apses. Various frescoes have been discovered under the whitewash of the prayer hall, previously the nave of the church. Conservation and restoration of the building took place from 1999-2001.
Two thick masonry buttresses are built against the south wall, with a third at the southeast corner. The walls are limestone, with wood frame windows, and the floors are of local marble. The minaret is built at the northwest corner, with a trunk built in two stages sitting on a large, solid base. The mosque courtyard was formerly used as graveyard, but it has been cleared; three of the gravestones are preserved in the prayer hall. A large circular cistern for ablution was once located at the northeast corner of the mosque, but is no longer extant.
The prayer hall is rectangular in shape, roofed with cross vaults. A window and former south door of the church were walled up and plastered to form a niche to create the mihrab. Above the mihrab is a painting of a representation of an idealized mosque, in red, green, and yellow, with an inscription below.
Source:
Bağışkan, Tuncer. Ottoman, Islamic and Islamised monuments in Cyprus, 276-277. Nicosia, Cyprus: Cyprus Turkish Education Foundation, 2009.
Cyprus Civil Engineers and Architects Association (CCEAA) & Chamber of Cyprus Turkish Architects. "Tuzla Mosque." Accessed September 5, 2014. http://www.cyprustemples.com/templedetails.asp?id=430
Location
Larnaca, Cyprus
Images & Videos
Events
medieval church converted to mosque, 1823/1238 AH
Style Periods
1299-1922
Additional Names
Tuzla Mosque
Variant
Touzla Camii
Variant
Site Types
religious