Fatih Ortahisar Mosque (Trabzon)
Büyük Fatih Mosque, formerly Panagia Hrisokefalos Church A mosque and former monastery church located in Ortahisar district of Trabzon. Another name of Fatih mosque is Ortahisar Mosque.
It served as both a monastery and a church during the Trabzon Empire, before the conquest of Trabzon by Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1461. The enthronement ceremonies of the Trabzon Emperors were held here, and some of the deceased rulers were buried in the church or in its garden. After conquering Trabzon, Fatih Sultan Mehmet converted the church into a mosque and then performed the first Friday prayer here. The first important repair of the mosque was made in 1468.
Evliya Çelebi mentioned in his Travelogue that the mosque had a madrasah, primary school, soup kitchen and darülkurra. But today, there is no trace of these buildings. The mosque was repaired from time to time by making restoration work. Inside the mosque, there is a minbar made of walnut wood. The minaret of the mosque was built on a high pedestal separate from the building. The mihrab, made of stone and reminiscent of the motifs of the Seljuk period, has a rich ornamentation. There are inscriptions placed at different times in the mosque.
The mosque was extensively restored by the Trabzon Regional Directorate of Foundations between 2015-2017. After the completion of these restoration works, it was opened to worship again in November 2018.
