THE MOSQUE OF AKTAS VILLAGE OF USAK
UŞAK İLİ AKTAŞ KÖYÜ CAMİİ

Author : Türkan ACAR
Number of pages : 361-380

Abstract

Aktaş Village, which is one of the central villages of Uşak province, is about 18 km northwest of the city center. Aktaş Village has one mosque, four fountains and one laundry which are dated to the late Ottoman and early Republican periods. In the Aktas Mosque, which was built in 1893-94, the sanctuary with the transverse rectangular plan is covered with a wooden construction ceiling. A plasterboard dome is attached to the center of the ceiling. The minaret is located in the northwest corner of the sanctuary. Aktaş Mosque has been built with cut, pitch-faced, rubble stone types and bricks. The mosque is covered with a hipped roof that is covered with Marseille type tiles. The decorative sliced arches and wall surfaces of the last congregation site, the walls of the sanctuary and the cover are decorated with botanic, geometric and textured hand-drawn ornaments. The Aktaş Village Mosque is a typical example of rural architecture in the period which is called as the period of westernization in Anatolian Turkish art with its plasterboard wooden domed cover and the ornamental decorations frequently seen in Western Anatolian mosques. Especially Aktaş Mosque, even though it is one of the rural architectural structures, is one of the special examples with its wooden ceiling plasterboard domed cover system, plan design, architectural details, rich late Ottoman period ornamental decorations repertoire, as it maintains both Uşak examples and regional characteristics. The continuation of both the plan shape and the ornament approach in rural architecture brings to mind that the same master and artist group carried the characteristics of the region to almost every city and countryside, or that the style of decoration spreaded through these master groups or workshops. The lack of sufficient names and documents about the masters and artists will be clarified with more detailed researches to take place in the region. The plan and ornamentation applied in Uşak city center and villages is remarkable in point of showing the city's and the region's architectural and ornamental approach in that period. Aktaş Mosque is a beautiful example of the period called as the period of westernization in Anatolian Turkish art with its characteristics we’re trying to introduce.

Keywords

Ottoman Time, Uşak, Aktas Village, Mosque, Harim, Wall Painting, Ornament

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