GREAT MOSQUE OF AHLAT

Currently it is in ruins within the archaeological excavation area. It is thought to have been built in the twelfth century following the Seljuk conquest of the town.
The location of the Great Mosque of Ahlat was presumed to be in the area to the east of a tall retaining wall known as Bezirhane; when the earth of a hillock here was removed then the socle of the minaret thought to be located in the northwest corner of the mosque was uncovered. The areas to the north and west of the minaret were paved with slabs; and a mihrabiyya was attested in the east part of the socle’s north façade. The way the walls join the minaret indicated that the mosque had undergone repairs and alterations in time. Sondages and cleaning work brought to light pier fragments shaped like a bunch of columns, and in the areas around the minaret were uncovered rectangular pieces glazed in turquoise and tile panels. The finds indicate that the body of the minaret was covered with glazed bricks and tiles were used on other parts of the building. The work to the west of the minaret brought to light a domed structure. As the excavations have not been completed it is not possible to say much about the structural features of this mosque. On the other hand, there have been some claims for the date of the remains uncovered to belong to the Ilkhanid period. There is also a hypothesis that the first great mosque built in Ahlat was located in Taht-ı Süleyman neighbourhood and that a minaret fragment of brick lying in the garden of a house has survived from it.