Decorations of the Central (Tonus) Mosque in Altınyayla district of Sivas province

The Central (Tonus) Mosque which is the subject of this study is located in the Altınyayla district in Sivas province. Although the Central Mosque is the oldest mosque in district and it is an example of mosques with wooden pillars and ceilings in Turkish architecture. It is known that mosques with wooden pillars and ceilings were built and implemented by Ghaznavids and Karakhanids and moved from Central Asia to Anatolia. It is seen that Turks, Seljuks, Principalities and Ottomans who settled in Anatolia used wood intensively in their architectural works, great mosques and small masjid that have survived to this day such as Aslanhane and Ahi Elvan Mosque in Ankara and Eşrefoğlu Mosque in Beyşehir. The subject of our research is the decorations of the Altınyayla Central (Tonus) Mosque in Anatolia. For this study necessary permission was obtained from related places after this detailed information was collected from the relevant places and a literature research was conducted. Also, the place investigation in the Altınyayla Central (Tonus) Mosque was carried out within the scope of the research. The decorations inside the mosque were made under the influence of the west therefore baroque, rococo and neo classic style styles was decorated with herbal motifs, animal figures and geometrical shapes. The decorations inside the mosque were made with the use of pencilwork, pegging, carving and openwork carving techniques on wood and plaster. In decorations, baroque styles with western influences, neo-classical styles, 'S' and 'C' folds, flower motifs in the vase, palmettes, rosettes, tassels-fringes, rumis from animal motifs, munhanis, tulips from herbal motifs, rosebud varieties, buds, leaves , acanthus leaves, shua patterns, spring branches, spring flowers, floral and geometric motifs are used. These decorations appear as a reflection of different periods in late Ottoman work Altınyayla (center) Mosque. Central Mosque decorations were examined in terms of motif, pattern, composition, color and technique. Following the detailed examination of the ornaments, general and detailed photographs were taken. By making use of detailed photographs, detailed pattern drawings were drawn in accordance with the originals. With these drawings, the current situation was determined and a documentation study was carried out. Since the patterns in the Central (Tonus) Mosque were drawn by hand without regard to any pattern report, differences were observed in the drawings, symmetries and repetitions of the unit patterns. Because of this, a pattern and a motif are taken as examples in the drawings and they are drawn symmetrically in the Adobe Illustrator program. All wooden materials of Altınyayla Central (Tonus) Mosque are made of pine wood. Due to the wooden ceilings and pillar inside the Central (Tonus) Mosque, cracks on wooden bases, deterioration in colors and decorations were detected. It was seen that the necessary importance was not given to the ornaments of Altınyayla Central (Tonus) Mosque, which has historical and architectural importance. These shortcomings need to be eliminated during the restoration work. For this reason, it is important for Altınyayla Merkez (Tonus) Mosque decorations to be made as a resource for future generations and researchers by making documentation studies and bringing them to the literature. Keywords: Wooden Ornament, Openwork Carving, Natural Painting, pencilwork, Sivas, Tonus Mosque