Kulaksız Mosque

Merkez MosqueHistoric Buildings October 2010

The Kulaksız Mosque is a historic place of worship located in the Yavru Turna neighborhood of Çorum. Within the city’s traditional neighborhood fabric, it is counted among the mosques in which wooden material was predominantly used.

History

It is not known with certainty when or by whom the mosque was built. Because the inscription that could have provided information about its construction period and patron has not survived to the present day, no definitive determination can be made regarding its date of construction. This is a common problem encountered in many small-scale neighborhood mosques in Anatolia; such buildings, whose inscriptions have been lost or were never written, are usually dated on the basis of their plan and material characteristics.

The building underwent a repair in the mid-19th century. During this repair, the mosque lost a significant portion of its original features. Since it was a widespread practice during the Ottoman period for neighborhood mosques to be renovated over time according to need, such interventions can largely erase the traces of a building’s original form.

Architecture

The Kulaksız Mosque is of the great mosque plan type, in which the interior space is divided into naves carried by wooden pillars. This plan scheme is a small-scale continuation of the multi-pillared (multi-naved) mosque tradition seen in Anatolia from the Seljuk period onward, carried by rows of pillars arranged side by side. Such mosques, in which wooden pillars support the roof covering, were preferred in regions where wood was abundant alongside stone and brick, creating plain and functional spaces.

In the building, the central space is covered by a wooden dome. The use of a wooden dome offers a lighter roofing system that is easier to construct than a stone dome; in this respect, the mosque is an example of the local building tradition shaped by wooden material in Ottoman provincial architecture. The 19th-century repair caused changes to this architectural composition and led to the loss of most of the original details.

Location and Visiting

The mosque is located in the Yavru Turna neighborhood in the center of Çorum, within the traditional residential fabric. Its central location makes it easy to visit together with the city’s other historic mosques and buildings.

For those curious about the other historic mosques in central Çorum, nearby examples include the Çorum Ulu Mosque (Murad-ı Rabi Mosque), the Kubbeli Mosque, and the Han Mosque. For other buildings that complement the city’s traditional architecture, you may also consult the Çorum Houses page.

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