Hıdırlık Mosque

Merkez October 2010

Hıdırlık Mosque is an Ottoman-era building located to the west of the provincial center of Çorum, on the hilly area commonly known as the Hıdırlık locality. With both its function as a place of worship and the tradition of visitation surrounding it, it stands out as one of the important faith and cultural sites in the city center.

History

The present-day mosque was dedicated to the memory of Süheyb-i Rumî, one of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad who is also known as his standard-bearer, during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II. The structure was built in 1889 by Hıdır oğlu Hayrettin at the request of Yedi Sekiz Hasan Paşa, one of the leading figures of the period. This date shows that the mosque is one of the Çorum examples of late nineteenth-century Ottoman provincial architecture.

It is known that an older mosque stood on the same site before the present building; however, it is not known with certainty when or by whom this first structure was built. It is reported that the first mosque was destroyed by an earthquake, and that the present mosque was built in place of this ruined structure. The fact that the region has been affected by earthquakes throughout history has been one of the factors leading to the reconstruction of many historic buildings in Anatolia.

Architecture

The mosque was built in the middle of a wide courtyard using rubble stone and brick. This combination of materials is a technique commonly seen in Ottoman provincial architecture. The structure has a square plan, covered on the inside by a dome and on the outside by a roof. This covering arrangement reflects a simpler and more economical application of the classical domed mosque scheme.

The prayer hall is lit by three round-arched windows in each of the lower and upper rows; this window arrangement provides balanced light to the interior. In front of the entrance on the north side there is a four-section last congregation place (son cemaat yeri), closed to the outside and covered by a roof. In the courtyard of the mosque there is a columned ablution fountain (şadırvan) with a conical dome; the fountain is both a functional space for ablution and one of the architectural focal points of the courtyard.

Location and Visiting

The mosque is located close to the city center of Çorum, at the Hıdırlık locality, and together with the open space around it, it is a spot that visitors can reach easily. Considered together with the other historic places of worship in the city center, it forms an important part of Çorum’s religious architectural heritage from the Ottoman period.

Those who wish to tour the historic buildings in central Çorum may add to their itineraries other examples from the same period and region, such as Çorum Ulu Mosque (Murad-ı Rabi Mosque), Kubbeli Mosque and Han Mosque, along with sites such as Çorum Museum and Çorum Clock Tower.

ℹ️ This article has been enriched with additional historical context and editing over the original archive content.