Ali Nacar Mosque

The Ali Nacar Mosque located in the border of Gaziantep,is close to Alleben Creek. You can come to the Yaprak District and witness this very special and historic mosque. It is stated that the mosque was built by a man named Ali, whose profession is carpentry. On the stairs leading to the Mahfil(gathering place) section, it is seen that the year 1213 was written as the date. Yet this date is considered to be the date of repair rather than construction. The Ali Nacar mosque was severely damaged in the defense of the city of Antep.The bullet marks in the mosque clearly indicate this. Despite this, the mosque, which has managed to maintain its stability in general, is waiting for its visitors in all its glory. Ali Nacar Mosque is also referred as’ Annacar mosque'. The local people call it Eğik(‘tilted) minaret’. Indeed, when you examine the mosque's minaret, you can see that it is conspicuously oblique. There are very different views regarding the construction and repair processes of the mosque. According to one claim, the mosque was demolished and rebuilt in 1816. Evliya Çelebi mentions this mosque in the form of Alüyyün Nacar in his famous work. Nacar used to mean Carpenter anyway in the old language. Ali Nacar Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Gaziantep city, draws attention with its rectangular plan. Cut stones were used in the construction process of the mosque. In the outer section, it is seen that there are also black stones. The presence of these stones adds a special aesthetic dimension to the mosque. There are traces of lead in the minaret of the historic mosque, which is still open for worship today. Although the exact date on which the Ali Nacar Mosque was built is unknown, many stories about that process are quoted. It is stated that the carpenter master, popularly known as Ali Usta, set aside the money for the construction of the mosque, put it in a log he carved and left it in the stream.