The Great Mosque of Diyarbakir is the oldest and one of the most significant mosques in Anatolia. Following the Muslim capture of Diyarbakir in 639, a church in the city was used in part as a mosque. The church was eventually fully converted to a mosque, but the building fell into disuse and ruin. In 1091 Sultan Malik Shah directed the local Seljuk governor Maidud Davla to rebuild a mosque on the site. Completed in 1092, the mosque is similar to and heavily influenced by the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus (which was repaired by Malik Shah in the twelfth century prior to work in Diyarbakir). The influence of the Damascus mosque brought Syrian architecture and decoration to Anatolia.

Nemrut Mountain is a 2,134 meters (7000 ft.) high mountain in eastern Turkey, 40km north of Kahta, near Adiyaman. At the top of Mt. Nemrut, King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene built his tomb-sanctuary along with huge statues (8-9 meters high) of himself, two lions and two eagles, and various Greek and Persian gods such as Hercules, Zeus-Oromasdes (associated with the Persian god Ahura Mazda), Tyche, and Apollo-Mithras in 62 BC. These statues were once seated, with names of each god inscribed on them. The heads of the statues are scattered throughout the site; the pattern of damage to the heads (notably to noses) suggests iconoclasm. There are stone slabs, with bas-relief figures on them, that are thought to have formed a large frieze. These stones display the ancestors of Antiochus, both which are Macedonians and Persians. This tomb contains stone carvings of gods, such as the head of an eagle.

The statues have the likeness of Greek facial features, in conjunction with Persian clothing and hairstyling. The western terrace contains a large slab with a lion, showing the arrangement of stars and the planets Jupiter, Mercury and Mars on July 7 62 BC, the possible time when construction began on this monument. The eastern portion is well preserved, being composed of several layers of rock, and there is evidence of a walled passageway linking the eastern and western terraces, from a path below at the foot of Mount Nemrut. Possible uses for this site might have included religious ceremonies, due to the astronomical and religious nature of the monument.

Goreme (Greek: Κόραμα ("Korama")), located among the "fairy chimneys" rock formations, is a town in Cappadocia, a historical region of Turkey. It is in the Nevsehir Province in Central Anatolia. The Goreme National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

The first period of settlement within the region reaches to Roman period of Christianity era. Among historical sites are Ortahane, Durmus Kadir, Yusuf Koc and Bezirhane churches in Goreme, including Tokali Kilise, the Apple Church, houses and shafts engraved from rocks.

The monastry was constructed in IVth century. Engraved Virgin Mary Church(Theodoros Temple) and Mar Yakup Monastry with Deir-ul Zaferan constituted a trio which is one kilometer north from the monastery. There is a Bible of great historical value and a sacred stone in the mosque, from where the first School of Medicine is to thought to have been established.

Deir-ul Zaferan is one of the most known structure of Upper Mesopatamia and the religious center of Suryani Kadim Community. The monastery was built in IVth century and mosaics remaining from that period have still been present. One of the most significant properties of the monastry is the fact that the graves of the 52 Syrian Orthodox patriarch are within this structure.

19 new pictures were added to "Southest-Dara" category.

Dara was formerly an important transit trading center of Mesapotamia and takes its name from the famous Persian King Darius. When it was still thriving, Dara changed hands many times between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Persians. After the 15th century, it switched permanently into Turkish hands. The enormous water cisterns here were originally built to meet the great water needs of Dara’s castle. There are many ruins underneath the castle area.

19 new pictures were added to "Istanbul-Ferruh Kethuda Mosque" category. To the right of Balat Kapisi and on the same street as the church we come to a small mosque which is a minor work of the great Sinan. A long and handsomely written inscription in Arabic over the fine entrance portal of red conglomerate marble informs those who can read it that the mosque was built in A. H. 970 (A.D. 1562-3) by Ferruh Aga, Kethuda (Steward) of the Grand Vezir Semiz Ali Pasa.

It was established by Gazanfer Aga in 1599, includes a small medrese, the turbe of the founder, and a charming sebil with handsome grilled windows.

Category Info:
Istanbul--Gazanfer Aga Medrese

Galata Tower and surrounding photos were added to our archive.