Great Mosque of Cizre

The Great Mosque of Cizre stands at the heart of the Dağkapı quarter and is regarded as the town's oldest place of worship.

History

Tradition holds that its earliest core was formed when a church was converted into a mosque in the early period of Islam's arrival in Anatolia; the minaret standing today was built in 1155.

Door Knockers and the Legacy of al-Jazari

What made the mosque world-famous, however, are its bronze dragon-figured door knockers and its monumental metal door. On the knockers, a central lion head is flanked by two dragon heads whose bodies are joined at the tails, with eagle heads worked at the tail tips — an exceptionally fine piece of metalwork believed to have come from the workshop of the great scholar and engineer of the age, al-Jazari (Ismail al-Jazari) of Cizre. Sadly, the monumental 13th-century door and one of its knockers are today displayed at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul, while the other was smuggled abroad in 1969 and is held at the David Collection (David Samling) Museum in Copenhagen; at the mosque entrance visitors can view replicas of these celebrated knockers.

Cultural Significance

With its plain stone mass, courtyard and historic minaret, the mosque symbolises Cizre's multilayered Mesopotamian past. It offers guides a strong platform to explain that Cizre was once a major centre of science, trade and Sufism that produced a genius such as al-Jazari.

Visiting & Access

The building is the principal stop on the walled old-town walking route and is visited together with the immediately adjoining Tomb of the Prophet Noah. Photographically, the minaret and the door knocker are the most captured details. Visitors are advised to bring attire appropriate to a place of worship (headscarf and modest clothing for women) and to visit quietly outside prayer times. When adding Cizre to a faith- and ancient-city-themed DMC itinerary, the Great Mosque is the indispensable first stop of nearly every tour.