During my first visit to Sivas, I came across a tourism booklet detailing some of the major tourist attractions in and around the region. As a dog lover, Kangal the home town of the famous giant turkish shepherd dog is the obvious priority, but the beautiful stone carvings and masonary works of the medieval mosque at Divrigi, a village about 3 hours by bus southeast of Sivas, caught my attention. Due to the distance involved and lack of time, I did not visit Divrigi at the end.
This time round I was travelling westwards from the direction of Erzurum; thanks to the presence of a direct rail link between Erzuzum and Divrigi, I was able to visit this mosque without having to make a big detour via Sivas.
It was a cold November day when I arrived at the front entrance of this splendid medieval religious building. The sky was grey as snow was forecasted - and it did snow shortly after I arrived - hence I was unable to take really optimal photos of the building and all its magnificent carvings and decorative masonary works.
The whole complex consists of two adjointed buildings: a mosque on the left hand side, and a mental hospital to the right. Being away from the main tourist trails, most people came to know about the Great Mosque of Divrigi because the complex has been listed as an UNESCO World Heritage site. It serves as a prime example of unique Islamic medieval religious architecture with a touch of Armenian/Georgian architectural influences, unseen of in other Islamic religious buildings of the same period. Some observers go as far as to describe the stone engravings and floral motifs on the main portals of the mosque and the adjoining mental ayslum as 'Gothic' or 'Khmer'. As I am not a specialist in the field of art history, I leave it for other to comment upon the subject. The important thing for me is, the structure of the whole complex, the beautiful masonary works on the main portals and the surrounding columns, and the unusual floral and geometric motifs adorning the outer walls of the portals, are indeed features which cannot be found elsewhere in the world.
In addition to the Great Mosque, there are many ruins of Armenian churches in the surrounding countryside and hills overlooking the village. Apparently the village also has a wealth of traditional Ottoman mansions, but due to time constraints I did not manage to visit any of them.
The iman of the mosque, Osman, is a very friendly and helpful young man. After I deposited my suitcases at his small office at the entrance to the mosque complex, he offered me some tea and to show me around the mosque compound. The freshly brewed hot beverage is a welcoming relief on such a cold day, with temperature at below freezing point at 1.30pm.
Some of the three-dimensional floral patterns on the portal columns remind me of the stone carvings at Ishak Pasha Sarayi near Dogubeyazit. But here in Divrigi, both the motifs and the variety of patterns are far more extensive and intricate than those in Dogubeyazit.
In contrast to the highly ornamental styles of the main portals and outside walls, the interiors of the mosque are surprisingly plain, without much decorations or even colours. And it was really cold inside the mosque, there don't seem to have any heaters or heating systems installed in the interiors.
Now to the medieval mental asylum next to the mosque building. According to the plaque outside of the entrance to the main hall, this hospital was built by the daughter of a local ruler from Erzincan, and the owner of the title deeds was also a woman. Hence this hopsital was being hailed as the example of gender equality in Islamic Medieval Ages.
At the first glance, the interiors of this medieval mental hospital looks a bit like a cathedral, with all the vaults and arches.
Accoring to the Osman the Iman, this is the therapy pool where patients were being treated with music, activities and baths. I wonder where the water is coming from though, having not seen any likely sources of water such as pipes or fountains inside the hospital complex.
The hospital feels like a freezer in winter; I hope in those medieval days the interiors were at leasted heated. At the rear of the hospital buildings is a room with the tombs of the family that founded this hospital. A flight of stairs at the left hand side of the complex leads up to the upper floor of the building, with more rooms and halls for the patients.
The view of the village of Divrigi from the courtyard of the mosque complex. Even with the presence of an UNESCO World Heritage Site in its midst, this village has only one hotel and no bus hordes of tourists. Osman the Iman says the mosque is not short of visitors, but most of them come by car and stop here en route from the west to the east (or vice-versa), or they are on a day-trip from Sivas; very few of them stop for more than one or two hours in the town.
The view of Divrigi's castle, accessible from the mosque complex by a small foot path. Although it was just 3 in the afternoon, it was getting really cold and some snow began to appear in the air. I decided to head to the town centre and have lunch before the three-hour bus ride back to Sivas. The last bus to Sivas leaves as early as 4.30pm; if you do not intend to stay overnight in Divrigi, it is advisable to purchase your ticket as soon as you arrived at Divrigi to ensure a seat on the last bus. The scenery en route between Divrigi and Kangal is supposed to be very picturesque, but in winter, it was already dark by 4pm, and I could not see anything outside of the bus window except for the snow on the road. What a pity. Well, maybe there will be a next time, who know?
Copyrights@2011. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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