Frilly Mosque
Fırfırlı Mosque is located on Vali Fuat Street in Şanlıurfa city center. Built as a church, the original name of the building is the Church of the Twelve Apostles and it is also known as the Church of St. Apostles. According to sources, the Varak Cross, which was found in the historical Varak Monastery in Van province and which is of great importance for Christianity, was brought to Urfa in 1092 and placed in this church.
During the Ottoman period, the building was called “Frilly Church” among the people because it had windmill-like materials on it; after the church was converted into a mosque in 1956, the same name was given to the mosque. The building, which serves as a mosque today, was also used as a prison for a while before it was converted into a mosque.
The building was built of cut stone in a basilical plan with three naves. The entrance door on the west façade is half domed from the inside, pointed arched from the outside and made of pink marble stone. The bell tower is located above the main entrance door. The apse of the church was walled up and turned into a window during its conversion into a mosque. One of the southern windows was turned into a mihrab and a stone pulpit was built in front of the half column in the middle of the south wall.
