Bademlik Mosque: An Early Ottoman Mosque in Edirne
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 5
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Turkey
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Ottoman
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Mosque
History
Bademlik Mosque is a fifteenth-century Ottoman mosque in Edirne, Türkiye, built by Emir Hussein Bey in the early Ottoman architectural tradition. Also known as Hidirlik Mosque, Emir Hussein Mosque, and Emir Shah Mosque, it stands in the Yeni Imaret neighborhood. Emir Hussein Bey was an Ottoman emir, a high-ranking ruler or official, during the fifteenth century. The mosque belongs to Sunni Islam and remains active. Its plan, construction methods, materials, facade arrangement, decoration, and minaret placement make it a representative example of early Ottoman architecture, the building tradition formed during the Ottoman state’s formative period before later architectural forms became standardized. This tradition is also seen at monuments in Edirne, Bursa, Iznik, and Amasya.
Remains
Bademlik Mosque has a square plan covered by a single dome, with one minaret and a porch covered by a barrel vault. A barrel vault is a continuous curved ceiling created by extending an arch along a length. The minaret stands at the northern end of the western wall. Its shaft uses alternating courses of materials, with one course of cut stone followed by three courses of brick.
The qibla wall, which faces the direction of prayer toward the Kaaba in Mecca, contains three windows. Each side wall also has three windows, arranged with two at the lower level and one above them. Together, the compact plan, domed prayer space, vaulted porch, mixed masonry minaret, and orderly window arrangement express the early Ottoman architectural character of the mosque.
