Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği: Anatolia’s Carved Masterpiece

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

What is the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği?

The Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği (Divriği Ulu Camii ve Darüşşifası) is a single stone building that joins a mosque and a hospital under one roof, built in the small town of Divriği in 1228–29. It is famous above all for its portals, carved in such high, deep relief, with plant, geometric and calligraphic forms, that they have no real parallel in Anatolian architecture.

UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage List in 1985, describing it as a masterpiece of Islamic architecture, notable for the construction of its vaults and the exuberant carved decoration of its portals, which contrasts with the plain walls inside. The 2002 inventory calls it the most distinguished example of early Anatolian architecture, a building unique in itself in its plan, proportions, decoration and roofing.

How do you get to the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği?

Divriği is a district town southeast of Sivas, reached by road through upland valleys. Most independent travellers drive or take a coach or minibus from Sivas and make it a long day trip.

The town is also on the railway to Erzurum and Kars. The Touristic Eastern Express stops in Divriği for about three hours, timed so passengers can walk up to the mosque and back, according to the Sivas Culture and Tourism Directorate.

The complex is on the slope below the castle, a short climb from the town centre.

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When is the best time to visit the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği?

May, June and September are best for the drive and the weather. The carving of the portals changes completely with the light: raking sun brings out the depth of the relief, so look at each portal at different times of day if you can. Winters in Divriği are cold and snowy.

It is a working mosque, so avoid prayer times, especially Friday midday, and dress modestly.

What is the history of the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği?

Divriği was the seat of a branch of the Mengujekids (Mengücekoğulları), a Turkmen dynasty that ruled parts of eastern Anatolia after 1071. The inscription on the north portal gives the date 626 AH (1228–29) and names the patron as Ahmet Shah, son of Süleyman Shah. The hospital’s portal inscription credits its foundation to Turan Melek, daughter of Fahreddin Bahram Shah, the Mengujekid ruler of Erzincan. She is often described as Ahmet Shah’s wife, but no inscription confirms the marriage.

The architect’s name, read as Hurrem Shah, son of Muğis, of Ahlat, is inscribed inside both the mosque and the hospital. The inventory notes that the hospital was turned into a madrasa in the 18th century and is therefore also called the Şifaiye Medresesi.

Inscriptions record repeated restoration between the 15th and 19th centuries, and 20th-century campaigns addressed decaying stone and structural problems. A major restoration was decided in 2010 and began in 2015; it was halted several times, resumed in February 2022, and the complex reopened to visitors in May 2024. Since 2009 the governorship of Sivas has also expropriated and cleared buildings around the complex to protect its setting.

What is the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği famous for?

• The north portal. The main entrance to the mosque, tall and covered with high-relief carving of extraordinary density.
• The hospital portal. On the west front, framed by a monumental pointed arch, with carving as fine as the north portal’s but less dense, and some parts apparently unfinished.
• Vaulting. UNESCO singles out the variety and skill of the vaults, including the dome over the mihrab.
• A mosque and hospital together. One of the few medieval complexes to combine the two in a single building.

What can you see at the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği?

The mosque. The inventory gives it an area of 1,280 m², entered by three doors to the north, east and west, all with very fine stone decoration. Inside is a hypostyle hall of piers and vaults, each bay roofed differently, and the mihrab dome. The east portal may have been a royal entrance, leading to a raised wooden platform in the southeast corner. The west portal may be a later addition: the west front collapsed and was rebuilt, then strengthened with a round buttress at the northwest corner.

The hospital. Covering 768 m² according to the inventory, it adjoins the mosque. You enter through the carved west portal into a double-height hall, where four massive piers carry a dome with an oculus over a central pool, and the rooms of the hospital open around it.

The tomb. A tomb is part of the complex, alongside the mosque and hospital.

Divriği Castle. Above the complex, the Mengujekid castle has a glass viewing terrace and observation tower, from which the whole building and the town can be seen.

The town. Divriği has several medieval tombs, including those of Sitte Melik and Kemaleddin, the Burma Han caravanserai and old houses; the provincial directorate also recommends Abdullah Paşa Konağı and the Kız and Handere bridges.

Frequently asked questions about the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği

What do the official records say about the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği?

The Divriği Great Mosque was built in 1228 by Ahmet Şah, son of Süleyman Şah, ruler of the Mengücekoğulları. The mosque, which sits on an area of 1,280 m², is entered by three doors on the north, east and west sides, with extremely beautiful stone decoration. Its hospital was built in 1228 by Melike Turan Melek, daughter of Behram Şah. This unique monument sits on an area of 768 m². Because it was turned into a madrasa in the 18th century, it is also called the Şifaiye Medresesi.

The Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital, the most distinguished example of early Anatolian architecture, is a building unique in itself through the balanced and harmonious arrangement of its plan, the elements of its architectural proportions, and its forms of decoration and roofing. The Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital has been included in UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage list. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Sivas Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)

Main photo: Mxcil, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.