Kefeli Mosque

{{Short description|Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey}} {{Infobox religious building | building_name = Kefeli Mosque<br />Kefeli Câmîi | image = KefeliMescidi20070603 1.jpg | image_size = 300px | caption = The Kefeli Mosque seen from the south | image_upright = 1.2 | map_type = Istanbul Fatih | map_size = | map_caption = Location in the Fatih district of Istanbul | location = Istanbul, Turkey | coordinates = {{coord|41|1|46|N|28|56|30|E|region:TR_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | latitude = | longitude = | religious_affiliation = Sunni Islam | rite = | region = | state = | province = | territory = | prefecture = | sector = | consecration_year = Between 1623 and 1640 | status = | architecture = yes | architect = | architecture_type = church | architecture_style = Byzantine | general_contractor = | facade_direction = | groundbreaking = | year_completed = Between 13th and 15th century | construction_cost = | specifications = yes | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = 1 | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | materials = brick, stone }}

The '''Kefeli Mosque''' ({{langx|tr|Kefeli Câmîi}}, meaning "the mosque of the Caffariotes", after the inhabitants of the city of Caffa in Crimea, or also ''Kefeli Mescidi'', where ''Mescit'' is the Turkish word for a small mosque) is a former Eastern Orthodox church, later jointly officiated by Roman Catholics and Armenians, and finally converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. The Catholic Church was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Its date of dedication as an Eastern Orthodox church is unknown, but it is commonly identified with the 9th-century '''Monastery of Manuel''' ({{langx|el|Μονὴ τοῦ Μανουήλ}}).

The interest of Kefeli Mosque arises because it repurposes the early Christian basilica form during the later Byzantine period.<ref name=mat190>Mathews (1976), p. 190.</ref>

==Location== The building lies in Istanbul, in the district of Fatih, in the neighborhood of Salmatomruk, on ''Kasap Sokak'', more or less halfway between the mosque of Chora and the mosque of Fethiye.

==History== thumb|right|300px|The mosque in a drawing of 1877. The origin of this building, which lies on the slope of the sixth hill of Constantinople, is not certain. The tradition says that in the ninth century Manuel the Armenian, a general in the wars against the Saracens during the reign of Emperor Theophilos (r. 829–842), built a monastery converting his house, which lay near the cistern of Aspar.<ref>Van Millingen (1912), p. 254.</ref> Manuel was the uncle of Empress Theodora, wife of Theophilos, and before retiring to his monastery he was one of the three counselors who assisted her in the regency for her infant son Michael III, following the death of her husband.

The Monastery of Manuel was rebuilt by Patriarch Photius, and was restored again by usurper Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944). Emperor Michael VII (r. 1071–1078) retired here after his deposition.<ref>Van Millingen (1912), p. 257</ref> All these events show the importance of this monastery in Constantinople. Nevertheless, the attribution of this building to the complex founded by Manuel is far from certain, and has been denied by the newest research.<ref name=mat190/>

The documented history of the current edifice begins in 1475, shortly after the Fall of Constantinople, when the Ottomans conquered the Genoese colony of Caffa, in Crimea. All the Latin, Greek and Jewish inhabitants who lived in Caffa ("Caffariotes" or, in Turkish, ''Kefeli'') were then deported to Istanbul and relocated to this quarter. The Latins, mainly Genoese, were authorized to use this building as a church together with the Armenians.<ref name=mat190/> The church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was officiated by the Dominicans, and kept by four Catholic families.<ref name=mw166>Müller-Wiener (1977), 166</ref> Armenians and Catholics had separated altars.<ref name=mw166/> This small church depended on the near Catholic ''Church of Saint Mary'', which later became the Odalar Mosque.<ref name=mw166/> In 1630, under the reign of Murad IV (1623–1640), the church was converted into a ''mescit'' (a small mosque) by Great Vizier Receb Pasha, but retained the denomination, being first known as ''Kefe Mahalle'', then as Kefeli Mescidi. In exchange, the Armenians got a Greek church in Balat.<ref name=mw166/>

==Architecture== [[File:KefeliMescidi20070603 2.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The apse of the mosque with the minaret seen from the north. From here, the alternate courses of bricks and stone are clearly visible.]]

The building is a large hall, 22.6 meter long by 7.22 wide,<ref name=mil258>Van Millingen (1912), p. 258.</ref> and is oriented in north–south direction, which is quite uncommon among the Byzantine churches in Constantinople. Its masonry consists of alternate courses of bricks and stones. The original building had a triple-nave plan, but the only remains of the side aisles belong to the end wall of the western one.<ref name=mat190/> To the north side there is an arch and a semicircular apse made of bricks, which outside has a polygonal shape. The walls of the apse are indented by two niches. The main aisle has walls which are lighted by two ranges of windows, which are irregularly spaced. The southern wall is also lighted by two ranges of windows. The lower windows are much larger than the higher. The entrance is situated in the middle of the western wall. Under the western side there is a cistern, whose roof rests on three columns.<ref name=mil258/>

The dating of the edifice is uncertain. The polygonal apse and the niches in the apse are typical of the churches of Palaiologan foundation.<ref name=mat190/> The building is architecturally interesting because it is an example of reproposition of the early Christian Basilica form during the later Byzantine period.<ref name=mat190/>

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==Further reading== *{{cite book | last=Van Millingen | first= Alexander | title=Byzantine Churches of Constantinople | publisher=MacMillan & Co | location = London | year=1912 }} *{{cite book | last=Mathews | first= Thomas F. | title=The Byzantine Churches of Istanbul: A Photographic Survey | publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press | location = University Park | year=1976 | isbn=0-271-01210-2 }} *{{cite book | last=Gülersoy | first= Çelik | author-link=Çelik Gülersoy | title=A Guide to Istanbul | publisher=Istanbul Kitaplığı | location=Istanbul | year=1976 | oclc = 3849706 }} *{{cite book | last=Müller-Wiener | first= Wolfgang | author-link=Wolfgang Müller-Wiener | title=Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion-Konstantinupolis-Istanbul bis zum Beginn des 17. Jahrhunderts | publisher=Wasmuth | location=Tübingen | language=de | year=1977 | isbn = 978-3-8030-1022-3 }}

Category:Mosques converted from Byzantine churches Category:Fatih Category:Sunni mosques in Turkey Category:Mosque buildings with minarets in Turkey Category:Monasteries of the Byzantine Empire