We visited the Divriği Great Mosque (Ulu Camii) and Hospital (Darüşşifası), an extraordinary example of Islamic art, twice in recent months.  Once in spring amidst a deep green landscape coming by car from Sivas, which is about a three hour drive away.  It is an important historical site in its own right with some of the most impressive Seljuk monuments like the Şifaiye Madrasah, an important medical school in the 13th century, and the Gök Madrasah and the Double Minaret Madrasah or the Subaşı Han, an Ottoman-period Caravanserai still used today as spice market.  Sivas is also the place where the 1919 Congress was held, one of the stepping stones in establishing the Republic of Turkey.  On the way to Divriği we passed through Kangal, the home of Turkey’s famous shepherd dogs. 

The second visit took place in February 2020.  We had come overnight from Ankara on the fabulous (Doğu) Eastern Express Train via Kayseri and Sivas.  We arrived at Divriği station in the early morning.  The scene was winter wonderland with a good half meter of snow at minus 15°C.  After a hearty breakfast close to the railway station we went up to the Great Mosque of Divriği passing several kumbets (small mausoleums with a pointed dome) and the citadel.  The mosque and hospital complex is currently undergoing restoration work; there is a lot of scaffolding and a metal roof covering the building.  The site is likely to reopen in the course of 2020 or 2021.   

Like on the previous occasion we were lucky that the mosque’s imam was there and showed us around.  He explained that the first Turkish buildings inscribed in 1985 on the World Heritage List were the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği. Built in the 13th century the complex is famous for its traditional stone carving decorations on the gates to both the Hospital and the Mosque.  The Hospital was revolutionary for its time as it was known for trying to heal the sick applying water and music treatments.  

Our first visual impression was the almost baroque and gothic style of the gates had it not been actually Seljuk.  Every ornamental figure is a unique piece of art displaying a three-dimensional geometric style.  Some are designed in a such a way that they throw shadows of praying men and women; some are designed as rotating pieces, now no longer moving because of damage sustained in earthquakes. Apparently because of the hard winter conditions there is no courtyard and no outdoors ablutions place but rather a closed single building complex.

From afar the mosque looks plain but once you come closer to the great portals, particularly the Paradise or Castle portal, and once you step inside you will be amazed by the building’s features, its prayer room with the two crowning domes.  The mimbar is made of ebony and is as old as the mosque and still in use. Now with the restoration work going on we could even climb up to the domes.

You can come by train or bus from Istanbul or Ankara; by minibus or car from Sivas where there is the closest airport.  Hotels and restaurants as well as tea houses can be found in Divriği.  Given the ongoing restorations you should check if the mosque is accessible at the time of your visit.