Meyveli Village Mosque

Meyveli Village Mosque is located in Orta Neighborhood of Meyveli Village, Fındıklı district, Rize province, Türkiye. According to the inscription on the entrance door of the minbar, the structure was built in Hijri 1288 (Gregorian 1871–72) by Mustafa Bin Alişan for the souls of himself and his mother.

Architectural Structure

• General Plan and Floors: The structure has a rectangular plan along the north–south axis. It consists of a ground floor made of roughly cut stone rows and a prayer hall (main worship area) built of wooden material above it. In some sources, the structure is also described as square planned, composed of the ground floor, the prayer hall floor, and a gallery floor.
• Construction Technique and Materials: The structure was built using a masonry construction system. Rubble stone was used in the basement floor, while wooden material was used in the upper floors. Wooden parts were constructed with corner scarf joints and the main structure was built with the traditional “çantı” technique, in which timbers are interlocked.

Exterior Features

• Facades and Windows: Except for the northern façade, all facades of the mosque have two rows of two windows each. The upper floor windows are in guillotine style, while the lower row windows have wooden railings and sliding shutters from the inside.

• Entrance and Last Prayer Hall (Son Cemaat Place): The main entrance of the building is provided by a double-winged door located in the middle of the northern façade. In addition, on the northern façade, there is a last prayer hall at the entrance and a balcony-like projection at the gallery floor. Four columns were used in both the last prayer hall and the gallery floor projection.

• Roof: The structure is covered with a hipped roof with wide eaves sloping to four sides from the outside. The roof covering is traditional Ottoman tiles, and the eaves undersides are open.

• Minaret: The mosque has no minaret.

Exterior View of Meyveli Village Mosque (Kültür Portalı)

Interior Features

• Prayer Hall (Harim): The main worship area, the prayer hall, has a rectangular plan along the north–south axis.

• Mihrab: Located in the middle of the qibla wall, the mihrab has a semicircular plan, featuring a niche (kavsara) with four rows of concave moldings and a lobed arch.

• Minbar: The construction inscription is located on the entrance door of the minbar. The minbar itself is made of elaborately carved woodwork.

• Gallery (Mahfil): The wooden gallery (women’s section) surrounding the prayer hall in a U shape is accessed by a double-armed, single-flight staircase from the northeast corner of the prayer hall. The gallery is supported by three columns in total—two on the north and one on the east. The gallery floor is connected to the balcony-like projection on the northern façade through a single-winged door. The gallery lodge and its railings are also decorated with carvings.

• Ceiling: The interior covering of the mosque consists of a wooden ceiling.

Interior View of Meyveli Village Mosque (Kültür Portalı)