El-Rizk Mosque

The El-Rizk Mosque is the grandest place of worship in Hasankeyf and one of the most original surviving examples of Ayyubid architecture in Anatolia.

History

It was built in 1409 by the Ayyubid ruler Abu'l-Mafakhir Suleyman on the bank of the Tigris River, adjoining the city walls of the old town. Its name is understood to derive from the Arabic word for sustenance and blessing (rizq). The mosque remained in continuous use through the Ayyubid, Aq Qoyunlu and Ottoman eras, holding a distinctive place within the Islamic architectural heritage of southeastern Anatolia. Its cultural importance extends well beyond its religious function: its stone decoration, inscriptions and proportions are rare documents of late-medieval art of the Jazira region.

Architecture

The building is celebrated for its monumental carved portal, its intricate geometric and floral ornament, its bands of Kufic calligraphy and its richly worked muqarnas, all reflecting the finest stone craftsmanship of its age. Its best-known feature is the roughly forty-metre minaret with a rare double spiral staircase, allowing two people to ascend and descend without meeting; for centuries this minaret was the tallest and most defining element of the Hasankeyf skyline.

The Relocation

When the decision to flood old Hasankeyf under the Ilisu Dam reservoir became final, the mosque became the subject of one of Turkey's most remarkable heritage-relocation operations. In late 2019 its main body, weighing about 1,700 tons, was loaded onto a 256-wheel self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) and carried some 4.7 kilometres to the new Cultural Park (Archaeopark) in New Hasankeyf; the minaret was dismantled and re-erected on the same grounds. After restoration the mosque was reopened for worship and Friday prayers resumed within it.

Visiting & Access

For visitors, the site offers the chance to experience both a monumental Ayyubid building and an extraordinary feat of engineering and preservation at the same time, which is precisely why agencies favour this stop. Because it now stands alongside other rescued monuments, including the Zeynel Bey Tomb, the Artuklu Bath, the Imam Abdullah Zawiya and the Sultan Suleyman Mosque, all gathered along a single walking route, it makes an efficient and powerfully narrated half-day programme easy to build. The average visit is about 30 to 40 minutes for the mosque itself and 1.5 to 2 hours for the whole Archaeopark. On guided tours the mosque is usually positioned as the centrepiece of the Hasankeyf Museum and Cultural Park circuit, with the storytelling built around the drama of the 12,000-year-old town and the rescue of its monuments.

The surroundings include the New Hasankeyf settlement, the Hasankeyf Museum, the relocated tombs and zawiyas, and viewpoints over the Tigris. The most striking photographs are the portal details, the vertical composition of the minaret, and the mosque framed against the reservoir and the new town; early-morning and sunset light bring out the texture of the stone. Access is easy: it lies about 38 km from central Batman and 42 km from Midyat, reached via a signposted turn-off from the Batman-Midyat highway into New Hasankeyf. The Cultural Park has ample parking and full tour-bus access, and because it is a newly landscaped site the walkways are largely level and relatively suitable for wheelchair users. The best time to visit is spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October); the summer months are the peak season but daytime tours can be demanding because of the region's extreme heat.