The Emir Bedrüddin Mosque was known among the people as the Andızlı Mosque because of the andız tree in front of it, and during the Ottoman period it was also known as the Alanya City Mosque (Câmi-i Şehr-i Alâiyye). According to the mosque’s inscription, it was commissioned in the year 676 AH (1277–1278) by Ömer b. Emîri’l-Hâc, the Emir of the Coasts (Emîrü’s-sevâhil), who was known by the nickname Bedrüddin and bore the title Ebü’l-Meâlî. Ömer b. Emîri’l-Hâc, nicknamed Bedrüddin and bearing the title Ebü’l-Meâlî, had the mosque built. The inscription does not mention the ruler’s personal name, but only the title “es-sultânü’l-a‘zam Gıyâsü’d-dünyâ ve’d-dîn.” Although this title was used by more than one Seljuk ruler, the date H. corresponds directly to the reign of Giyās al-Dīn Kaykhusraw III (1266–1282), it can be reliably determined that the sultan referred to in the inscription is Giyās al-Dīn Kaykhusraw III. In the inscription, “Bedrüddin” is Ömer’s epithet, while “Ebü’l-Meâlî” and “Emîrü’s-sevâhil” are his titles; his father’s given name is not mentioned, and he is referred to by the title Emîrü’l-Hâc. The readings provided by Konyalı and Ali Yardım also confirm this sequence of names and titles.

The mosque continued to be used during the Ottoman period as well. When Evliya Çelebi visited Alâiyye in 1671, he recorded the Bedreddin Mosque as the only mosque in the Lower Castle where Friday prayers were held, describing the other places of worship as small mosques, and transcribed the Seljuk inscription above the mosque’s door into his *Seyahatnâme*. The mosque was extensively restored in 1725 by the residents of the Tophane neighborhood, and an Ottoman inscription documenting this restoration was also placed on the building.

There is a significant margin of uncertainty regarding the building’s historical development. In the *Heritage of the Anatolian Seljuk Period – Architectural Inventory*, prepared under the guidance of Z. Kenan Bilici, it is suggested that the first Seljuk mosque to which the inscription dated H. 676 belongs may have been located in the section between Tersane and Kızıl Kule, and that this structure may have later been demolished, with the current mosque in Tophane having been rebuilt during the Ottoman period and the old Seljuk inscription moved to this location.

The current structure has also undergone major changes in recent times. A restoration was documented in 1970; the 2016 inventory of Seljuk architecture, however, notes that the existing mosque was “subjected to extensive restoration in recent times and converted into a reinforced concrete structure.” As a result of these interventions, the building’s historical architectural integrity and authenticity have been largely lost. Today, historical elements such as the courtyard, the entrance gate, three inscriptions, and a section of the minaret are preserved; the cut-stone minaret and the carved wooden minbar are also among the building’s notable features. A comprehensive restoration is necessary to preserve the building’s original historical elements and address the incompatible reinforced concrete interventions using scientific methods.

In front of the mosque, there is also a large historic cistern, part of which lies beneath the rear prayer hall. The structure was registered in 1999 as a cultural property requiring protection.

Seljuk inscription:

Seeking closeness to Allah the Exalted during the reign of the Great Sultan, Gıyâsi’d-dünyâ ve’d-dîn—may Allah preserve his sultanate— through the construction of this mosque, the servant seeking the mercy of his Lord, Bedr al-Din, Emir of the Coasts, Abu al-Ma’ali Omar ibn Emir al-Hajj, may Allah grant him a good end, praising Allah and sending blessings upon the best of His creation, Muhammad, and his virtuous family, in the month of the year six hundred and seventy-six.

Meaning: “Seeking to draw closer to Almighty
Allah; during the reign of the great Sultan, the Helper of the World and the Faith, Giyasu’d-dunya wa’d-din, —may Allah make his reign everlasting—this mosque was built by Bedrüddin, Emir of the Coasts, Abu’l-Ma’ali, son of Emir al-Hajj Omar, a servant hoping for his Lord’s mercy. May Allah grant him a good end. Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon Muhammad, the best of all creation, and upon his pure family, in the months of the year 676 [1277–1278].”

Sources

● İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı, Alanya (Alâiyye), Ayaydın Printing House, Istanbul, 1946, especially pp. 297–309; for the inscription, see p. 298. (kutuphane.tbmm.gov.tr)

● Ali Yardım, Alanya Inscriptions (Identification, Registration, Classification, and Evaluation), Istanbul Conquest Society Publications, Istanbul, 2002, pp. 121–122. (istanbulfetihcemiyeti.org.tr)

● Mustafa Cansız, “Correction Suggestions Regarding the Transcriptions of Some Seljuk and Ottoman Inscriptions in Antalya Mentioned in Evliya Çelebi’s Travelogue,” 2022; corrected transcription based on the available photograph of the inscription. (Academia)

● Z. Kenan Bilici (project advisor), The Heritage of the Anatolian Seljuk Period – Architecture, Vol. 1, Selçuklu Municipality, Ankara, 2016, p. 243. (Academia)

● Saim Yörük, “Changes in the Ottoman Sanjak Administrative Division as Reflected in the Tahrir Registers: The Case of the Alâiyye (Alanya) Sanjak,” Mediterranean Journal of Humanities, X, 2020, pp. 499–531; Evliya Çelebi’s entry on the Bedreddin Mosque. (DergiPark)

● Filiz Akçay, “Anatolian Port Cities During the Era of the Seljuk State of Turkey and Seljuk Monuments in These Cities,” Asya Studies, 7/26, 2023, pp. 245–266; 1970 restoration. (DergiPark)

● Antalya Governor’s Office, Antalya Cultural Inventory, entry on the Andızlı Emir Bedrüddin Mosque; 1725 restoration, existing historical elements, and 1999 registration. (Antalya Cultural Heritage Inventory)

● Ali Sevim, “Keyhusrev III,” TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 25, Ankara, 2022, pp. 350–351. (TDV Encyclopedia of Islam)