Lala Pasha Mosque
Lala Pasha Mosque; The building, which is the first mosque built in Erzurum during the Ottoman Period, has also been a model for other Ottoman mosques built here. Commander of Suleiman the Magnificent, conqueror of Cyprus, Grand Vizier Lala Mustafa Pasha; He had the mosque built in 1562 when he was the Governor of Erzurum. A palace and a primary school were located next to the work belonging to Mimar Sinan, but these have not survived until today.
The central dome carried by four pillars in the middle, semi-cross vaults supported by pointed arches on four sides, and a centrally planned cover consisting of four small domes at the corners, illuminates the interior of the mosque with 28 windows in two rows. The tiles on the window pediments in the lower row were damaged by the bullets fired during the occupation of the city by the Russians. The inscription of the building is located on the round and muqarnas mihrab. The hadiths on the windows offer unique examples of calligraphy. The minaret of the mosque, built on a square base, has a round body and a single balcony. The minaret, built of white stone, is decorated with bracelets with red stones. In the courtyard of the mosque, there is an octagonal wooden fountain with a conical roof.
The columns in this fountain are decorated with extremely beautiful stonework. On the western mihrabiye in the narthex, there is an edict written on inverted “T” shaped marble slabs. Written in 1670, this edict IV. He tells that Mehmed brought tax exemption to the people. The narthex, which is completely covered with a dome, shows an architectural style open to the front and to the sides with pointed arches.