A Thousand Mosques in Turkey (Part 2)

Haji Bayram Mosque

An antique mosque built in the year of 1427 by a famous local philosopher and religious leader named Haji Bayram. Situated in an oldest district in Ankara called Ulus, this mosque was built to serve the religious need of its local pupils in the 15^th century. As the population number grew bigger, this mosque had been restored and extended; also its decoration had been polished, by the grand-son of Haji Bayram named Mehmet Baba, in the year of 1714. The architecture of the mosque has the 17^th century style with its Ottoman characteristic after restoration. The inside part of the building is covered with Paris plaster, coloured window glasses made in China, as well as ceramics. In its southern wing, we also found the tomb of Haji Bayram which is still visited by the local visitor until now.

Maltepe Mosque

One of the modern mosques in Ankara built in 1954 in Demirteppe district, 1 kilometer distant from Kizilay. Furnished with classic Ottoman architectural style, this small building with two minarets showed up on the top of a hill surrounded by a water fountain and a leafy park. Inside the mosque, I saw the windows decorated with flower drawings and Arabic calligraphy writings such as thayyibah words or the names of the four caliphates after the death of Prophet Mohammed.