Abstract:

The rectangular planned mosque of Kemaliye village, 8 km from the town center of Keles, which is one of the mountain districts of Bursa province, built with rubble stone, has a simple exterior architecture. The decorations and wall paintings made using the hand-drawn technique in the sanctuary and the narthex render the building extraordinary. The wall surfaces of the sanctuary and the narthex were divided into square and rectangular sheets and used as a depiction area. In addition to the bouquets that can be seen in many religious and civil buildings on the sheets, the city of Mecca with the Kaaba in the center, the descriptions of the cities with large gates, a baldachin tomb with sarcophagus and destard coin-style tombstone in which a Mevlevi crown is used as a heading, were sarcophagus on which flags and battle-axe are placed diagonally, cypress, fruit trees, bunches of spikes, sliced watermelon with the cap cut off and dagger were placed. In the paper, it was attempted to introduce the wall paintings and writing program of the Kemaliye village mosque by considering the mystic environment in the village and examining its possible symbolic meanings. Since the building does not have a construction inscription, the date of its construction and its builder are not known. However, according to local history studies, the building was built by Hacı Osman, the son of Hacı Mehmet, and its decorations and depictions were made by foreign masters. Year “1129” (M. 1874/75) written above the entrance door is the date of manufacture of the decorations and depictions. The mosque, the decorations, and paintings of which have survived in their original form, is an outstanding example that reflects the tastes of the Ottoman society in the countryside in the last quarter of the 19th century.