Fodor's Expert Review Yivli Minare Mosque

Antalya Historical
Free

A few dark blue and turquoise tiles still decorate the Yivli Minare (Fluted Minaret), a graceful,13th-century cylinder erected by the Seljuk sultan Alaaddin Keykubat I; the imam once climbed its narrow steps five times daily to give the call to prayer. The adjoining mosque was converted from a Byzantine church, and the remains (displayed under glass) of an 800-year-old water channel can be seen if you step inside. Within the pretty complex are two türbes (tombs) and an 18th-century tekke (lodge), which once housed a community of whirling dervishes and is now a small free museum devoted to the traditions of their Mevlevi Order. The old medrese (theological school) adjacent to the minaret has been covered under an unattractive bus-station-style roof and is a tourist-oriented shopping center. It sells standard Turkish knickknacks (think pottery, copper work, carpets, and tiles), but prices are better than at most other resorts along the coast.

Historical Free Religious Building

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Antalya, Antalya  07100, Turkey

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