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Banya Bashi Mosque

Sofia, city center 1000

RELIGIONS Islam

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELIGIOUS SITE

DESCRIPTION
Banya Bashi Mosque is a mosque in Sofia Bulgaria, built by the architect and civil engineer Mimar Sinan. Its construction was completed in 1566, during the years the Ottomans had control of the city. The mosque derives its name from the phrase Banya Bashi, which means many baths. The most outstanding feature of the mosque is that it was actually built over natural thermal spas; one can even see the steam rising from vents in the ground near the mosque walls. The mosque is famous for its large dome, diameter 15m, and the minaret. Due to the number 974 of the arch above the door, it is believed to have been built in 974 by the Hijra (Islamic calendar) or 1566-1567. The main building is quadrangular, has four corner dome and one central as well as a minaret. In the front there is a tributary of three small domes, built in memory of Kada Seyfoullah Efendi's wife. The mosque is built according to the trends in architecture from the 16th century. It is made of ashlar and brick. The prayer hall and arches are entirely made of ashlar. The columns are carved from a whole stone body and are matt colour, and the dome is covered with lead. Several repairs were made to the mosque. The last major overhaul was done in the 1920s. Today, in the mosque, every Friday there is a prayer of about 500, and during the Byram - about 1,000 believers.
HISTORICAL RELEVANCE
Banya Bashi Mosque in Sofia was built in 1576 in the heyday of the Ottoman military expansion. At the time, Sofia was the capital of the Ottoman European provinces and hosted the army and the regional administration. Mimar Sinan, the best-known Ottoman architect at all time, was charged with designing the mosque.
INTER-RELIGIOUS RELEVANCE
Banya Bashi, however, remained far from Sinan’s greatest architectural achievements, such as the Selimiye mosque in Edrine and the Suleiman mosque in Istanbul. Once one of over 30 mosques in town, Banya Bashi is currently the only active Muslim temple in Sofia. In the 1880s, all but a few of the city’s ethnic Turks relocated inside the shrinking borders of the Ottoman Empire. The mosques that were left behind were either destroyed or turned into churches.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE
Currently, the Banya Bashi Mosque is the only functioning mosque in Sofia, a remnant of the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria that lasted nearly five centuries, and is used by the city's Muslim community. After the fall of Communism, Islam (alongside with all other religions) welcomed the newly-adopted religious freedoms and reinstated the customary call for prayer from its minaret. This caused many political controversies and noise complaints.
HOW TO USE WITH THE STUDENTS
The students should visit the place.
REFERENCE TO THE GUIDELINE

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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.