The Çantı (Log-Built) Mosques of Bayat
According to Oktay Gündogdu’s 2024 article, the Bayat part of the survey of Çorum’s districts identified three mosques built in the çantı technique (also spelled çandı; log or timber stacking). In this technique timbers are joined at the corners without nails; it is common in the Black Sea region. Gündogdu notes that, unlike mosques with timber supports or timber ceilings, these mosques are wholly of timber, including the walls. All three were built in the second half of the 20th century by village craftsmen with the support of the villagers. For Bayat’s other historic mosques, see The Historic Mosques and Shrines of Bayat; for the district, see History of Bayat.
Shared features
- All three are rectangular, single-space buildings laid out north-south, and all have galleries.
- The walls are raised in 16 to 19 courses of timber; inner faces are flat, outer faces are trimmed to a triangular profile, and single-piece timbers projecting about 25 cm at the corners are joined by a “wolf’s throat” (kurt boğazı) notch. According to Gündogdu the timber is generally pine.
- The walls of the prayer halls are plain; decoration is concentrated on the ceilings, with centre rosettes, corner pieces and frames in lath-work inverted ceilings, and painted and incised decoration on the mihrab and pulpit.
- Where most çantı mosques in the Black Sea region stand beside cemeteries, the Bayat examples are in the village centres and have no cemetery around them.
Ahacık Village, Yüceardı Quarter Mosque
According to information from villagers, it was built in 1970. It stands on sloping ground and is a “chambered mosque” of ground floor plus one storey: a village room is on the lower floor, the complex also includes an imam’s house, a coal store and a depot, and the mosque is on the upper floor. The prayer hall measures 7.40 x 5.84 m inside and is raised in 18 courses of timber. The mihrab, pulpit and preaching chair are of wood; the mihrab and minbar are painted in coloured oil paint, with a crescent and star in openwork on the minbar balustrade. The ceiling has a lath-work rosette in the form of a seven-pointed star. Because a new mosque was built nearby, the building no longer serves its function; Gündogdu writes that, though it has kept its authenticity, it faces the danger of deterioration and loss.
Falı Village Mosque
Built in 1971 in the village centre, it was registered by decision no. 1605 of 13 October 2015. The prayer hall measures 9.00 x 6.90 m inside and is raised in 19 courses of timber; a timber-and-brick-frame porch and a reinforced-concrete entrance space were added later to the north façade (13.00 x 9.64 m externally, porch included). The mihrab, pulpit and gallery have incised decoration and coloured oil paint, and the ceiling has a lath-work rosette with a thirteen-pointed star. The building is in use. Gündogdu establishes that a photograph printed in the Bayat promotional booklet under the caption “Yenişıhlar Çatma Cami” actually shows this mosque; it also shows the earlier paint scheme of the mihrab, minbar and gallery.
Yenişıhlar (Yenişeyhler) Village Mosque
Built in the çantı technique in 1965, the mosque stands right beside the new mosque in the village centre. It is said to have served formerly as the Friday mosque and to have been moved to its present spot from lower down in the village; Gündogdu writes that this agrees with the building’s size and position and with the name the villagers give it. The certificate of opening for worship names Ahmet Murat as the architect, but no written source for this could be found. The prayer hall measures 7.70 x 6.95 m inside and is raised in 16 courses of timber. In a recent repair the interior walls and architectural elements were renewed and covered with panelling; the one interior element that kept its authenticity is the lath-work inverted ceiling. The building is in use.
Sources
- Oktay Gündogdu, “Geleneğin Devamı Çorum/Bayat’ta Çantı Tekniğinde İnşa Edilmiş Camiler” (Continuation of the Tradition: Mosques Built with the Çantı Technique in Çorum/Bayat), İstem, 43, Summer 2024, pp. 381-406. DOI: 10.31591/istem.1458936. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/doi/10.31591/istem.1458936