Located in a cul-de-sac off the road to Sara Hatun Mosque in Harput district, this two-story building has a mosque on the upper floor and a tomb on the lower floor. Although the inscription, which gives the construction date as 678-1279, is found at the entrance of the mosque, the relationship between the tomb and the mosque indicates that the two structures were built around the same time.

The six-line Arabic inscription above the mosque's entrance reads as follows:

1- Indeed, only those who believe in Allah are obliged to the mosques of Allah.
2- Ve'l-yevmi'l-âhiri ve ekâme's-salate ve âte'z-zakâte
3- Ve lem yahşe illallahe fe'asâ ülâike en yekûnû mine'l-mühtedîn.
4- Tetavve'a bi imâreti hâze'l-bük'ati fî eyyâmi's-sultâni'l-mu'azzam Gıyase'd-dünyâ ve'dîn
5- Keyhusrev bin Kılıç Arslan, may Allah's kingdom be upon him, Abdurraji, the mercy of his Lord, the Benefactor.
6- Yûsuf bin Arabîşâh ibni Şaban. Fi seneti semaniye ve seb'în ve sitte mie.

Translation:

Only those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and perform prayer properly, and give zakat, and fear no one but Allah, will maintain Allah's mosques. And it is they who are hoped that they will be among the guided. (Surah At-Tawbah, 18) This mosque was built by Yusuf, son of Arabişah, son of Şaban, who sought the mercy of Allah, the Most Gracious (Al-Mannan), during the reign of Keyhüsrev, son of the great Sultan Kılıç Arslan, may Allah perpetuate his kingdom, who was the supporter and helper of religion and the world among the Seljuk sultans. The year was 678 AH (1279/1280 AD).1 , 2

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  1. Cultural Awareness Development Foundation – Arap Baba Tomb ↩︎
  2. Corrections to the reading and translation of the Arabic text of the inscription were made by Engin Mutlu. ↩︎

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