EŞREFOĞLU MOSQUE

Located in the city center of Beyşehir, it is one of the oldest structures from the Seljuk Beylik period. Built in 1134 by order of Seljuk Sultan Sancar, it was later rebuilt in its present form in 1297 by Eşrefoğlu Süleyman Bey. It is still open for worship and visitation. This 700-year old mosque holds a special place in Turkish architectural history as the only wooden mosque that uses many decorative arts such as stone, brick, tile, and colorful painting together and extensively. Built between 1297 and 1299 by Eşrefoğlu Süleyman Bey, the Eşrefoğlu Mosque is known as the largest of the flat ceilinged mosques supported by wooden pillars. One of the mosque's important features, whose secret to remaining standing for 7 centuries without decaying despite being made of wood remains unknown even today, is the "karlık" (snow pit) in the center, 4-5 meters deep. It is believed that the karlık was built to prevent the mosque from decaying. It is thought that the snow filling the karlık slowly melts, and the resulting moisture prolongs the life of the wood inside the mosque.