Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque: The Dulkadirid Great Mosque

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1. What is Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?
2. How do you get to Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?
3. When is the best time to visit Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?
4. What is the history of Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?
5. What is Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque famous for?
6. What can you see at Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?
7. Frequently asked questions about Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque
8. What do the official records say about Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?

What is Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?

The Ulu Mosque (Ulu Cami) is the oldest and most important mosque in Kahramanmaraş. It was built in the 15th century under the Dulkadirids, a Turkmen dynasty that ruled from Maraş, and enlarged under their best-known emir, Alaüddevle Bozkurt Bey. It stands in the Ekmekçi neighbourhood in the centre of the city, close to the castle, with the Taş Medrese beside it.

The mosque was heavily damaged in the earthquakes of 6 February 2023. Its last prayer before the disaster was the evening prayer of 5 February. After a full restoration it reopened with the midday prayer on 16 March 2026, on the eve of the Night of Power (Kadir Gecesi), 1,135 days later, and President Erdoğan joined the official ceremony by video link during Foundations Week.

For people in Kahramanmaraş the reopening carried weight beyond architecture: the mosque is remembered as the place where a Friday prayer in 1920 helped ignite the city’s resistance to the French occupation.

How do you get to Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?

The mosque is in the city centre, a short walk from the castle and the old covered market streets. Kahramanmaraş Airport (KCM), about 5 km from the centre, has direct flights from Istanbul Airport, Sabiha Gökçen and Ankara. Taxis and city buses connect the bus station with the centre.

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When is the best time to visit Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?

Visit outside the five daily prayers and avoid Friday midday, when the mosque fills. Morning is quietest. Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered, a headscarf for women, shoes off in the prayer hall. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for walking the centre.

What is the history of Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?

Sources differ on the details. The Directorate of Foundations’ account dates the building to 1442–1454 under the Dulkadirid ruler Süleyman Bey, with enlargement in the early 16th century by Alaüddevle Bozkurt Bey. The 2002 inventory records an inscription stating that the mosque was founded by the Dulkadirid Alaüddevle in the time of the Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri, whose reign began in 1501. Either way, the mosque belongs to the period when Maraş was the seat of the Dulkadirid emirate, before the Ottomans took the city in 1515.

In the War of Independence, according to the city’s tradition and the governor’s account at the 2026 reopening, a Friday prayer here during the “flag incident” of 1919–20 became one of the sparks of the uprising that drove out the French in February 1920.

After the 2023 earthquakes, survey, restitution and restoration projects were prepared on the advice of a scientific board. Injections strengthened the outer walls and columns, steel tie-rods, dowels and tensioning systems were installed, and the minaret, mihrab, royal lodge (hünkâr mahfili) and courtyard were restored to their original form.

What is Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque famous for?

• Dulkadirid architecture. One of the main monuments of the emirate that ruled Maraş in the 14th–16th centuries.
• The 1920 resistance. Remembered as a rallying point of the city’s uprising.
• Its return. Reopened in 2026 after more than three years closed, a milestone for the earthquake-hit city.

What can you see at Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?

The minaret. Restored to its original form after the earthquake, it is the landmark of the old centre.

The mihrab and royal lodge. Both were restored in the post-2023 work.

The courtyard. Rebuilt and repaved as part of the restoration.

Taş Medrese. Next door stands the stone madrasa that, according to the 2002 inventory, was built in the name of the daughter of the Dulkadirid emir Alaüddevle Bey. It housed the city’s first museum, founded in 1947.

The old centre. The castle, the Hatuniye Mosque of 1519 and the market streets are all within a short walk.

Frequently asked questions about Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque

What do the official records say about Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque?

The inscription on the mosque in Ekmekçi neighbourhood states that the mosque was founded by the Dulkadirid Alaüddevle in the time of Sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri. With its wooden roof and wooden columns, it carries the features of the 11th-century wooden mosque type.

The Taş Medrese, beside the Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque, was built in the name of the daughter of Alaüddevle Bey of the Dulkadirids. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Kahramanmaraş Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)