Haji Uzbek Mosque

Among the important mosques of Iznik, the Haci Özbek mosque is located on Kılıç Arslan Street. The mosque also has sections such as inscriptions, masjids and domes.

The Haji Uzbek Mosque is built in 1334 by Haji Uzbek bin Muhammad. A new section was added in 1940 to replace the last parish in the western section. The main building of Haji Özbek Mosque, one of the oldest mosques left from the Ottoman Empire, is rectangular in plan. The main worship section has a square plan and is covered with a dome.

A rectangular mihrab niche is noted on the wall in the Southern Section. Other walls have symmetrically placed claws. The western wall is used to exit the final communion place. The side parts of the last parish are closed. At this point a portico with three arches is seen opening outwards. Certain parts of the mosque are covered with mirrored vaults. The interior parts of the masjid are plastered. The dome is covered with a tile cover. The Haji Özbek Mosque is also located on the Main Street, on the same level as the Eşrefoğlu Rumi Complex. A total of three lines of information can be found in the inscription of the mosque. The inscription says who built the mosque and when.

The Haji Uzbek Mosque, which has an important place among the Ottoman works, is suggested to be essentially a Byzantine church, but it is soon proven to have been fabricated by the Greeks of Nicaea. At that time there was a serious population of Greeks in Iznik. Haji Özbek Mosque in the 1950s, unfortunately, remains a modicum of maintenance. Fortunately, it has recently been restored to its original texture and traditional masonry technique and reopened to worship.