Eşrefoğlu Camii

The Eşrefoğlu Mosque stands in the İçerişehir quarter in the north of Beyşehir, about 100 metres from the lake, and is regarded as the largest of the wooden columned buildings of Anatolia from the period of the Turkish principalities. The Culture Portal and the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam both date it to between 1296 and 1299. It was commissioned by Seyfeddin Süleyman Bey, founder of the Eşrefoğulları principality, which made Beyşehir its centre in this period. The inscription over the portal gives 1296-97, and a second inscription written in tile mosaic gives 1299-1300; TDV concludes that the building took at least three years to complete. The endowment inscription shows that it was built as part of a group together with an inn and a double bathhouse. The building was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023. It was inscribed not on its own but as part of a group of five buildings called the Wooden Hypostyle Mosques of Medieval Anatolia. The same group includes the Grand Mosque of Afyon, the Aslanhane Mosque, the Mahmut Bey Mosque and the Grand Mosque of Sivrihisar. Within this group, TDV describes Eşrefoğlu as the most developed and largest example of the wooden columned, flat roofed type. From the outside the building looks solid and plain. The front facade is built of cut stone, and the other walls of rubble stone. According to TDV, the northeast corner of the plan is cut off at a 45 degree angle, so that the facade follows the old main street of the town. The portal sits on this cut corner, and its carving closely resembles the portals of the Gök Medrese and the Çifte Minareli Medrese in Sivas. Some researchers link the builder to the circle of Kaluyan, who is thought to be the architect of the İnce Minareli Medrese in Konya. At the foot of the minaret there is a small public fountain whose water tank was made from an ancient sarcophagus. The real impact of the interior comes from the wooden columns. The flat timber ceiling is carried on beams resting on brackets above columns with muqarnas capitals. The number of columns differs between sources; the Culture Portal says more than forty, while Wikipedia and TDV give higher figures. TDV notes that the columns stand in six rows and rise about 7.5 metres. The columns are made of cedar, and according to oral tradition the timber was soaked in water for six months before use. The capitals, brackets and beams are decorated with painted ornament made with natural root dyes, some of which has flaked away today. At the centre of the building there is a pit known as the snow pit. According to the Culture Portal, in winter the snow that collected on the roof was thrown through an opening in the middle of the roof into this pit, and the melting snow kept the air humid and stopped the timber from drying out and cracking. The pit was covered with glass in 1965 and this function came to an end. The roof has also changed over time; the original earthen roof was turned into a pitched roof during the 1941 repairs and covered with copper in 1956. Tile and woodwork are the building's second great treasure. The mihrab is about six metres tall and entirely covered in tile mosaic, with turquoise as the dominant colour. TDV notes that its motifs are very close to those inside the dome of the Karatay Medrese in Konya. The walnut pulpit, doors and window shutters are worked in the kündekari technique, in which pieces are fitted together without nails or glue. An inscription beside the arch tells us that the woodworker was named İsa. Some of the original window shutters are now displayed in the Museum of Stone and Wood Works in the İnce Minareli Medrese in Konya. The building is open both to visitors and for worship today, so visits should be planned outside prayer times. Shoes are taken off before entering; women are expected to cover their hair, and everyone should wear clothing that covers shoulders and knees. Inside, keep quiet and take photographs without disturbing those at prayer. As you walk between the columns, look up at the ceiling; the painted work and the shadows that daylight casts on the beams are best seen from here. The building is in the town centre, within walking distance of the lakeshore and the Taşköprü; Beyşehir is reached from Konya by bus.