Hadım Ali Paşa Külliyesi

Diyarbakir, Türkiye

Hadım Ali Paşa Külliyesi is a mosque-madrasa complex located in the southwestern quarter of the old walled city of Diyarbakır. Its namesake is the Ottoman governor Hadım Ali Paşa (d. 1560-1561/968 AH). Scholars have dated the mosque to the late 1530s or early 1540s, the later corresponding with the period that primary sources claim he resided in the city.1

The mosque takes the form of a domed cube fronted by a portico with five bays that opens onto a paved forecourt with an ablutions fountain. The dome rests on a tall octagonal drum and is covered by a pyramidal roof. The portico's bays are domed, and the facade of the drum, portico, and north wall of the mosque are dressed with alternating courses of basalt and limestone masonry (ablaq). The mosque's minaret is detached from the building and is situated immediately to the east of the portico.

Entering the main portal, located at the center of the portico, one passes directly into the prayer hall. The hall consists of a large central bay covered by the dome. Four pointed arches made of basalt blocks support squinches that make the transition from square base to dome. These four pointed arches open onto shallow, triangular corner bays covered by semidomes. Blind pointed arches bridge the spaces between the squinches. The prayer hall is decorated with original glazed hexagonal tiles with a geometric pattern based on hexagons and stars in light blue, dark blue, and white. The tiles form a revetment that runs the perimeter of the hall.

The madrasa is located directly west of the mosque and is separated from the former by about ten meters. It is a rectangular building entered through a portal at the center of its north side. The plan consists of a large central courtyard that runs the length of the building from portal on the north end to iwan on the south end. The southern iwan terminates in a pentagonal apse covered by a pyramidal roof. Five shallow bays covered by semidomes flank this central space to the east and west. Doors at the back of these bays give onto small cells, each with one window.

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