The earliest settlement in and around Divrigi dates back to the Hittite Period. The mosque was built by Ahmet Shah and his wife Turan Melek in 1228-1229, together with its mosque, when the region was under the rule of Mengücekoğulları. This masterpiece of Islamic architecture consists of a mosque with a two-domed tomb and an adjacent hospital. In addition to their architectural features, the buildings are on the UNESCO World Heritage List with their rich examples of Anatolian traditional stonework. Divriği Ulu Mosque and Hospital is the first architectural structure of Turkey to be included in this list.
Divrigi Great Mosque and Hospital – Sivas
Divriği Ulu Mosque, which was shaped in 1228 by its architect Ahlatlı Hürremşah, is a unique work in terms of plan type and ornamental features. Darüşşifa, a two-storey building with a courtyard and an iwan built adjacent to the mosque, has unique features as a hospital where patients regain their health with the sound of water.
Ulu Mosque and Hospital have a plain architectural appearance from the outside. However, Darüşşifa Crown Gate, Mosque North Crown Gate, Mosque West Crown Gate and Shah Mahfili Crown Gate are each a dazzling architectural and engineering marvel with their unique decorations.
Divrigi Great Mosque and Hospital – Sivas
The three-dimensional, asymmetrical, vegetal and geometric figures on all the portals of the building were enthusiastically worked in a sculptural high relief technique with a unique understanding of description. This baroque architectural style in the Divrigi Great Mosque and Hospital, where the stone is embroidered like lace, has no analogues in Turkish and Islamic Art. As in the crown gates, each column, column base and column capital in the mosque and the ceiling decorations inside the dome exhibit different examples of style and decoration.