Giresun

Mosques, according to the Islamic understanding of conquest are a sign to delineate Islamic territory, and used to form the core of a neighbourhood in the Ottoman period. Thus, a mosque was the centre of a Muslim neighbourhood similar to the significance of churches or synagogues in non-Muslim neighbourhoods in the classical Ottoman period. In the 19th century, there were 8 mosques[1] and 5 masjids (smaller mosques often without a minaret and pulpit)[2] in central Giresun. All of the 8 mosques underwent repairs, while some that were in ruins were demolished and rebuilt by certain benefactors. Although year books count 8 mosques in Giresun, our list includes 9 because one of the masjids was probably demolished and subsequently rebuilt as a mosque. Short descriptions of these mosques follow:

1-Sultan Selim Mosque: This mosque was built by Sultan Selim I in a neighbourhood named after him. In the records of mosques, it is named as “Sultan Selim Han-ı Tabşirah Hazretleri Cami-i Şerifi”. An elementary school used to be next to it. In 1907, the mosque underwent a repair at a cost of 175,000 kuruses.[3]
2-Kale Mosque: Also called “Muhiddin Camii”[4], it is located across the Government Office in the Neighbourhood of Kale. It is understood that the mosque was originally built by Dizdarzade Emetullah Ayşe Hanım in 1830, and rebuilt by Sarımahmudzade Hacı Mustafa Efendi in 1911-1912. Mustafa Efendi’s son Eşref Efendi also had a fountain built.[5]

3-Hacı Hüseyin Mosque: The mosque was built in 1594[6] by Ramazanoğlu el-Hac Hüseyin Ağa.[7] Bearing the traces of the classical period, it is understood that the mosque was rebuilt by Emetullah Ayşe Hanım in 1861.[8]

4-Şeyh Kerameddin Mosque: Situated in the Neighbourhood of Sultan Selim, the mosque was built on a land which was endowed by Şeyh Kerameddin for the construction of a mosque. Probably made of wooden material, it was rebuilt by Sarı Alemdarzade İzzet Kaptan upon its destruction in 1900.[9]

5-Kapu/Seyyid Mehmed Paşa Mosque: Built by Governor Seyyid Mehmed Paşa in 1593, this mosque was also called “Kapu (Gate) Camii” as it was close to the entrance gate of Giresun Castle. Made of wood, the mosque was rebuilt by a notable named Karamustafazade Mahmud Efendi in 1896.[10]

6-Çınarlar Mosque: It is stated in its inscription that the mosque was built by Hacı Vehibzade Ali Ağa, while it is also stated in its second inscription that it was rebuilt by Sarıalemdarzade İsmail Ağa’s wife Afife Hanım in 1894.[11]

7-Soğuksu Mosque: The mosque, which was built by Müslim Bey in the Neighbourhood of Nizamiye in the second half of the 19th century[12], was expanded by the District Governor Mahmud Rüşdü Bey in 1896.[13] 8-Hacı Miktad Mosque: Originally built by Hacı Miktad Ağa in the Neighbourhood of Hacı Miktad in 1661, it is stated in the mosque’s inscriptions that it underwent repair first by Hacı Çalık Kaptan in 1841, and then by Alemdarzade İsmail Efendi in 1889.[14]

9-Gemiciler Çekeği/Hortumzade Mosque: Located in a neighbourhood with the same name, the mosque was built in 1884. It is probable, however, that the mosque previously served as a masjid elsewhere, then demolished, and rebuilt at its current location as a mosque by Hortumzade Hacı Hüseyin Ağa. Its parts that collapsed in the course of time were repaired by Sarı Alemdarzade Mehmed İzzet Kaptan.[15]

[1] Trabzon Vilayet Salnamesi 1288 (1871), p. 104; TVS 1289(1872), p. 102; TVS 1290(1873), p. 96.
[2] Trabzon Vilayet Salnamesi 1290 (1873), p. 96.
[3] Oktay Karaman, Giresun Kazası (1850-1900), Doctoral Thesis, Institute of Social Sciences, Atatürk University, Erzurum, 1999, p. 56.
[4] Mehmet Fatsa-Halil İbrahim Sarıtaş, “Giresun Merkezde Osmanlı Devri Vakıf Eser Kitabeleri”, Vakıflar Dergisi Aralık 2012, Issue: 38, p. 146.
[5] Karaman, Giresun Kazası…, p. 57.
[6] Karaman, Giresun Kazası…, p. 57.
[7] Fatsa-Sarıtaş, “Giresun Merkezde…”, p. 144.
[8] Karaman, Giresun Kazası…, p. 57; Fatsa-Sarıtaş, “Giresun Merkezde…”, p. 144.
[9] Karaman, Giresun Kazası…, p. 58.
[10] Fatsa-Sarıtaş, “Giresun Merkezde…”, p. 143.
[11] Karaman, Giresun Kazası…, p. 59; İsmet Çalık-Mehmet Fatsa, “Giresun İl Merkezinde Restore Edilen Vakıf Camileri” Vakıf Restorasyon Yıllığı, 2016, issue: 12, s. 85.
[12] Fatsa-Sarıtaş, “Giresun Merkezde…”, p. 148.
[13] Karaman, Giresun Kazası…, p. 60; Fatsa-Sarıtaş, “Giresun Merkezde…”, p. 148.
[14] Çalık-Fatsa, “Giresun İl Merkezinde…”, p. 77.
[15] Karaman, Giresun Kazası…, p. 60.