Bedevizade Ahmed Bey Mosque: An Active Mosque in Edirne
Site at a Glance
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Turkey
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Ottoman
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Mosque
History
Bedevizade Ahmed Bey Mosque, also known locally as Alaca Mosque, stands in central Edirne, Turkey. Built by Bedevizade Ahmed Bey, it is thought to date to the early Ottoman period, when the Ottoman dynasty ruled an empire centered in Anatolia and southeastern Europe. The mosque is affiliated with Sunni Islam, one of Islam’s two principal branches, and remains an active place of worship.
In 1954, the mosque was demolished down to its foundations and rebuilt, partly retaining its original appearance. It is owned by Turkey’s General Directorate of Foundations, which administers properties and endowments associated with religious and charitable foundations. In 2003, the Edirne Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board, a heritage-protection authority, registered it as a Group 1 protected monument, a formal protected-monument classification.
Remains
The mosque has a square plan and is built of roughly hewn cut stone, with a wooden roof. Its façades have windows arranged on two levels. A brick minaret, the tower traditionally used for the call to prayer, stands at the northwestern corner and has a single balcony. A cemetery lies in the courtyard.
