Kaya Celebi Mosque
According to its foundation charter, its construction was started by Kaya Çelebi Zade Koçi Bey in 1660, but upon Koçi Bey's execution, Cem Dedemoğlu Mehmet Bey completed it in 1663. It was opened for worship after the repairs carried out by the General Directorate of Foundations in 1993. The mosque consists of a square-planned, single-domed harim and a five-bay narthex to the north. It has a minaret on the northwest corner. The facades of the mosque, built with two-colored cut stones, are enlivened with windows in different forms. In addition, a door providing entrance to the mosque is placed in the middle of the north facade. The doors and windows on this facade have plant and geometric decorations.
The mihrab placed on the qibla wall inside the mosque is important. The mihrab, made of smooth limestone stones, is framed with a muqarnas border and has a rectangular appearance close to a square. There is a five-sided and muqarnas-capped mihrab niche crowned with a three-lobed arch in the middle of a wide surface. The mihrab is important with its geometric and plant decorations. The minaret has a square base and a cylindrical body. It ends with a short honeycomb and cone after the balcony. It constitutes one of the important structures of the Ottoman period. It is the only mosque of Old Van open to worship.
