The place of mosques and masjids in the Bolu region in Ottoman architecture

Bolu has hosted many civilizations in history and has been an important city of the Western Black Sea throughout this process. Bolu and its region came under Ottoman rule in 1323 and has become a Turkish-Islamic city with many monumental cultural assets for religious, commercial and social purposes since the 14th century. During the Ottoman rule, many mosques and masjids, examples of religious architecture, were brought to the region. There are mosques and masjids in the region go back to the early Ottoman period until the late Ottoman period. The structures are mainly located in the districts of Göynük, Gerede and Mudurnu and especially in the center of Bolu. In addition to these settlements, monuments were also built in Dörtdivan, Mengen, Seben and Yeniçağa districts. The structures that have survived to the present day in the catalog are thirteen in Bolu center, one in Dörtdivan, six in Gerede, three in Mengen, five in Mudurnu, two in Seben, and two in Yeniçağa, for a total of thirty-one. There are five buildings in Bolu center that have not survived to the present day. Göynük mosques and masjids were not included in the catalog because they were addressed in a different study, but they are included in the evaluation. In February 1, 1944 Bolu-Gerede earthquake, which was recorded as one of the most severe earthquakes of the Republican period, the urban environment and especially monumental architectural structures has been affected. For this reason, many of the mosques and masjids that have survived and are still in use were damaged after the earthquake and were repaired in the following periods. The doctoral dissertation titled "The Role of Mosques and Masjids in Ottoman Architecture in Bolu Region", which was prepared in this manner, was handled within the discipline of Art History. A certain method was followed in the preparation of the thesis. In the first instance, a literature study on the subject was prepared and field study was started in the light of the resources acquired. The mosques and masjids with historical qualifications in the region were detected and the structures and architectural elements were examined on site. These buildings were analyzed within the frame of a certain method and their place in Turkish-Islamic architecture was tried to be determined.