УДК. 726.2.033.39(497.774)“16“
Robert Mihajlovski
The sevenTeen-cenTury OTTOman religiOus
archiTecTure Of BiTOla/manasTir
The ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi, the author of
the book “Seyahãtname” visited the town of Toli
Manastır in 1661. His description is one of the most
valuable documents concerning the Ottoman character and proile of Şeher Manastır:1
…It is a part of the Province of Rumelia or Roman land
(Rumeli Eyalet) and it constituted a Royal property
(Hassa) belonging to The Bright Star Fatima, a daughter of Sultan Ahmed III, and was administered by the
Governor (Voyvoda) for 20 bags of akçes. It has a Religious Jurisconsultant (Mufti, Şeyh-ül Islâm), and a regional Representative of the Prophet (Nakib-ül Eşraf).
The town has a Chief Judicial Representative (Kadı)
with 300 akçes salary. From the 360 villages the kadı
obtains an annual income of ifteen bags of akçes.2 The
Government oficials include a Sipahi Cavalry Steward
(Sipah kethuda yeri), a Senior oficer of Jannisaries
(Yeniçeri Serdarı), the Prefect of the city (Şeher voyvoda), the Tax Collector (Ser haraç emini), a City Representative (Şeher kethuda), the Market Supervisor (Muhtesib aga), and the Chief Architect (Mimar başı). There
was not a Garrison Commander (Dizdar), since the fortress has been pulled down upon its capture by the order
of Sultan Murad I Hüdavendigar (1362-1389).
Evlija Čelebija, Putopis II, Svijetlost, Sarajevo, 1957, 5759. Toli Manastır had the status of Şeher, which was equal
to a large town or a city. The name of Toli Manastır was an
amalgamation of the names of Bitola and Manastır. M. Ursinus, ‘Manastir’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. VI, Leiden
1995, 371-372; C. Mostras, Dictionnaire geographique de
l’empire Ottoman, St. Petersbourg 1873, 170; S. Romanski, ‘Imenata na niakoi makedonski gradove’, Makedonski pregled, vol.4, Soia 1929, 63-70; T. Tomoski, ‘Kako
toponimot Manastir se naložil za vtor naziv na gradot Bitola’, Makedonija niz vekovite, Skopje 1999, 462-473.
2
Actually the real number of villages was around 160 and
they were oficially listed in the district in the year 1641, Turski dokumenti za istorijata na makedonskiot narod, ser. I/III
(1636-1639) Skopje 1969, 204-208, 281 sicil 6, p.72b-73b.
1
289
The town of Manastır is a large city situated on the
lower slopes of a mountain, on the left and on the
right sides of the river, which are connected by ten
wooden or stone bridges.3 The town is full of greenery,
adorned with a thousand huge trees from which it is
hard to see it, until you reach it. The town is divided
into twenty-one districts (mahalle) and its houses are
built out of solid material and covered by tiles.4
The mosques. There were 70 Muslim places of worship (Mihrab). The most remarkable is the mosque of
Ishak Çelebi near the Big Bridge… There is another
mosque of Mahmud efendi with an inscription…
The Gazi Haydar mosque is an artistically splendid
built place for worship. The mosque of Hacı Bey is
located on the Turners (Çekrekçi) market. The Çavuş
mosque that is close to the Bedesten has plenty of
worshippers.5 The town has nine religious colleges
(Medrese). The most impressive is the Dulbend Kadı
medrese.6
Some names of the bridges are known: The Big Bridge,
the Sungur Çavuş Bey Bridge, the Kara Köprü, the Flax
Bridge and so on. M. Tevik,’Kratka istorija bitoljskog vilajeta’, Brastvo, vol. XXVII, (transl. G. Elezović) Beograd
1933, 204; J. Hadži Vasiljević, ‘Grad Bitolj’, iz dela Kroz
staru Srbiju i Makedoniju 1897 godine, Brastvo, vol. XIV,
Beograd 1911, 41.
4
In 1661 the main Muslim quarters were as follows: Emir
Bey or Ishak Çelebi, Softa Hoca, Yakub Bey, Sinan Bey,
Karaca Bey, Azob Bey, Kara Oğlan, Kara Tabak, Bostanci, Oğul Paşa, Çavuş Ali, Hüseyn Subaşı, Bali Voyvoda,
Dimişki Bey, Firuz Bey, Ine Bey, Kasim Çelebi, Türbe, Yeni
mahalle, Hamza Bey, Kurd Çavuş, and Skenderbey. Turski
dokumenti za istorijata na makedonskiot narod, ser. I/III
(1636-1639) Skopje 1969, 204-205, 281 Sicil 6p. 72b-73b.
5
See: R. Mihajlovski, ‘The Sixteenth century mosques in
Bitola/Toli Manastir’, Patrimonium.MK, vol. 7-8 (2010)
351-366; N. Çayırlı, ‘Osmanlı idaresinde Manastır (Bitola),’ Türk Kültürü, No, 458 (2001) 371-6.
6
Tevik, op. cit., 214-215; E.H. Ayverdi, Asimpada Osmanli mimari eserleri Yugoslaviya, vol. III, Istanbul 1981,
3
Fig. 1. A photo of Bitola/ Manastır, early twentieth century
From the nine hundred business establishments in
the city those of turners and tailors were particularly
outstanding. There are forty coffee shops. The most
impressive building is the Covered market (Bedesten)
with domes and iron gates – in fact it looked much
like a fortress. The merchants in the Bedesten were
rich. Manastır was a famous place for production of
lax, which was iner than that of Egypt.7
Evliya Çelebi describes the outskirts of the town as
abundant with greenery and water, picnic places, deliciously grilled lambs and kebabs, music from different instruments and birds, some couples in love,
who enjoyed the beauties of the landscape and the
environment. The town itself was well known for its
numerous and excellent rhetoricians and orators. The
local religious students (Softa) with their disheveled
turbans, like birds’ nests, lived as outlaws (Eskıya).
The city had many wealthy merchants and pilgrims,
who were inclined towards erecting charitable foundations as memorials. The town possessed forty-seven buildings covered by blue lead and a stoutly built
covered market. (Fig. 1, A photo of Bitola/ Manastır,
early twentieth century)
The seventeen-century urban structure and organization of the town Toli-Manastır followed the pat-
terns of developed Ottoman cities. Certain parts or
districts, mainly in the center where business quarters were located, had secular markets and public
buildings around the places of worship. Among the
popular and important features in everyday life were
the public hamams. All of them were Vakıf endowments and consisted of twin baths for men and women. The better-known baths were close to the main
mosques, as they were in Bitola, for example the Eski
Çifte hamam of the ifteenth century, and the ‘Deboy’ hamam and the Yeni hamam, which were sixteen-seventeen century buildings.8 There were three
kinds of markets: the Covered market-Bedesten and
the open market-Bazaar Çarşı dealing with food and
everyday necessities. The town area was composed
of many different markets, such as the Horse market, the Sheep market, the Wheat market, the Wood
market, the Flea market, the Butter market. The Arasta or covered streets contained different markets
for spices, wine, lax, candles, jam, and craftsmen.9
The different types of khans and caravansaries that
served as hotels and wholesales ofices were close to
the markets.
In the irst half of the seventeen-century, the Mufti of
Manastir was Hacı Mahmud Efendi. Known as Kule-
96-97, 107. The names of the nine religious colleges (medrese) in Manastir were as follows: Dulbend Kadi medrese, Sungur Çavuş Bey medrese, Isa Fakih medrese,
Ishak Celebi medrese, Koca Kadi medrese, Türkler (Hacı
Bey) medrese, Yeni mosque medrese, Haydar Kadi medrese, and Tevikiye or Üç Şeyhler medrese.
7
Čelebija, op. cit., 59; A. Vacalopoulos, History of Macedonia 1354-1833, Thessaloniki 1972, 264.
K. Tomovski,’ Amamot Deboj vo Bitola’, Zbornik na
Arheološkiot muzej, vol. VI-VII, Skopje 1975, 263-370;
9
See: Hadži Vasiljević, op. cit., 24-30; R. MomidićPetkova, ‘Razvitok na bitolskata ćaršija (do II svetska
vojna)’, Zbornik na trudovi, vol. 4-5, Zavod za zaštita na
spomenicite na kulturata, muzej i galerija, Bitola 1983/84,
127-147.
8
290
Fig. 2. Hasan Baba mosque
li Müfti Şeyk, (Hırka Baba) he was a spiritual leader
of the branch of Nakşbendi order. At the outskirts
of the town he built a stone tower ‘Zandan Kulesı’,
which was 6.30 by 5.35 m. at the base and 10.95 m.
in high. There he had a large collection of religious
books and manuscripts. After his death in 1628 the
tower became a place of pilgrimage and the water
in which his mantle (Hırka) was dipped had healing
powers.10 Another local mystic and martyr was Hasan
Baba Keşi Efendi, a Nakşbendi derviş. He suffered a
violent death and the place where he was buried became a place of pilgrimage. Between 1628 and 1640
a small mosque, a tekke, and a mausoleum known
as Hasan Baba–Başı kesik tekye cami were erected.
During the nineteenth century the whole complex became a Nakşbendi place of devotion.11 on the southwest outskirts of the town was the center of the Halveti Hayatı dervishes consisting of tekke, medrese,
mausoleum and the mosque of the Three Sheiks (Üç
Tevik, op. cit., 223; F. W., Hasluck, Christianity and
Islam under the Sultans, 2 vols, Oxford 1929, 358-359;
Ayverdi, op. cit., 109; R. Mihajlovski, ‘Several Ottoman
monuments from Bitola (Manastir)’, Cultural Heritage,
vol. 26-27/2000-2001 (2001) 70-72.
11
Tomovski, op. cit., 58; Ayverdi, op. cit., 98; Tevik, op.
cit., 219-220.
10
291
Şeyhler). The mosque has a protruded apse where the
mihrab was placed, which was an exceptional architectural design among Bitola’s mosques.12
The seventeen-century religious buildings were
evenly spread on the right side of the Dragor rivulet
and on the left upper sides of the city. It will follow
a more detailed description and analysis of each of
them in a form of comprehensive catalogue of Ottoman monumental religious architecture heritage.
The Hasan Baba Cami or Hasan Baba-Başı kesik
tekiye cami. The Hasan Baba mosque is located in
the Upper western outskirts of the town, on the right
side of the river Dragor. (Fig. 2, Hasan Baba mosque)
During the nineteen-century Muslim refugees were
settled in this area and it was known as the Muhacir
mahallesi (Madžar maale).
The mosque was erected in 1037-1049 AH/ 16281640, in the times of Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640).
Fazli Paşa, a commander of the Third Army in
Manastır, renovated it in 1883.13
The history of the mosque is based on the local
legend of Hasan Baba Keşi Efendi or Hasan Baba
Decapitated (Hasan Baba-Başı kesik).14 According
to this legend, Hasan Baba was a pupil of the local
dervish named Ciger Baba, and he was beheaded as
a martyr, instead of his master. Carrying his head he
arrived at the spot where much later were built his
mausoleum with a cenotaph, and a mosque with a
Nakşbendi tekke.15 A similar popular legend was attached popular to the Christian St John Vladimir in
Elbasan from the eleventh century.16
Between the years 1623 and 1640, by the order of
Sultan Murad IV on the place where once stood a
Tomovski, op. cit., 54; Ayverdi, op. cit., 97; R. MomidićPetkova, ‘Hamza beg Uč Šeihler džamija vo Bitola’,
Zbornik na trudovi, vol. 9, Zavod za zaštita na spomenicite
na kulturata, zavod i muzej (1988-89) 95-109.
13
Tevik, op. cit., 219-220; Tomovski, op. cit., 1957, 58.
14
Ayverdi, op. cit., 97.
15
Tevik, op. cit., 220.
16
The hagiography of St John Vladimir was published in
”Akoluthia of St John Vladimir” in Moschopolis and Venice in 1741. It narrates that Bulgarian Tsar, John Vladislav killed and beheaded the Montenegrin prince John
Vladimir on the road from Ohrid to Bitola, at the place
called Derven. The body of St Vladimir, also called Shin
Gyon (St John) had remained in Kraina at Skadar Lake
until 1215, and after it was removed to the monastery near
Elbasan, where the remains are still kept and honored by
the Christians and by the Muslims. S. Antoljak, Samuel
and his state, Skopje 1985, 118-119, n. 951, 952, 954; R.
Matthews, Sons of Eagle, wanderings in Albania, london
1937, 25; H. Roeder, Saints and their attributes, london,
New York, Toronto 1995, 187. Similar legends are connected with St Miniato al Monte of Florence and St Albanos of Mainz. It is an ancient form of the Christian martyr
represented as a kefaloforos.
12
Hasan Baba mosque denotes that
it is a Nakşbendi place of devotion. The türbe mausoleum is a
simple and elegant, rectangular
building covered by a hipped
roof and adorned by a marble
alem (Fig. 3, The türbe of Hasan
Baba) Inside there is a wooden
Tabut covered by a silk fabric
with Koranic verse, where the
body of Hasan Baba was buried.20 on the northwestern side
of the mosque there is a variety
of graves and tombstones, decorated in the nineteenth century
Ottoman Baroque style. It might
be that the tekke was originally in
the porch or in the mosque itself.
A few years ago the Islamic community started the renovation of
the mosque building with the minaret, the mausoleum
and the graveyard, which are surrounded with a stonewall. There is another Bektaşi’s tekke in the vicinity.
Üç Şeyhler or Hamza Bey Cami. The mosque of
Three Sheyks is in the western town district named
after Hamza Bey, between the Kuruderesı stream and
the tower of Zandan kulesı. This mosque may date to
the sixteen century or before the year 1634. (Fig. 4,
The mosque of Three Sheyks) The only records are
the date of 1798 painted on the drum of the dome
and a marble inscription that says the building was
renovated in 1273 AH/ 1857-58.21 The Üç Şeyhler
or Hamza Bey mosque does not have an inscription plaque of foundation and no archive records are
available to determine its date of construction. There
is a possible connection with the Hamza Bey mosque
in Salonica, built in 1468 by his daughter Hafsa and
reconstructed in 1619. Hamza Bey was an important
commander under the sultans Murad II (1421-1444,
1446-1451) and Mehmed II (1444-1446, 1451-1481).
He had his feudal goods in Thrace, and he built a zaviye in Edirne, which became the center of the Halveti dervish order that arrived in Europe under Sultan
Bayezit II (1481-1512).22
Fig. 3, The türbe of Hasan Baba
modest tomb of Hasan Baba, a simple mausoleum, a
dervish tekke and a mosque were built. Fazli Paşa renovated the mosque in 1883.17 The mosque courtyard had
a cemetery with artistically decorated nineteenth century tombstones. The mosque was recently renovated.
The small, sturdy mosque has harmonious proportions. It has a single portico, which was added later.
An octagonal dome covered by terracotta roof tiles
sits on an octagonal drum without windows. The base
of the prayer room is 6 x 6 m, and the thickness of
the walls is 0.90m.18 The masonry is a coarse stone
with mortar. Two arched windows and one smaller
window at the top open in each side-wall. The façade
is whitewashed, simply decorated with three rows
of saw-tooth cornices. The simplicity is visible inside, with plaster-proiled squinches and mihrab
niche. The most remarkable feature of the building
is a sturdy polygonal minaret in Selcuk style, whose
entrance is accessible through the porch. A similar
model of a mosque can be found in the much earlier mosque of Hoca Yadigar in Inönü (Turkey) from
the year 776 AH/ 1374.19 The entire simplicity of the
Tevik, op. cit., 219; Hasluck, op. cit., 356-360. The
Hasan Baba mosque was visited by Hasluck and he noted:
The Nakshbendi tekke is on the outskirts of the town, containing the tomb of Hasan Baba, which is famous for its
miracles. The saint is said to have fallen under the displeasure of a Sultan who sent men to hang him. Fleeing
from them, the saint had turbes at many places through
which he passed, in order to deceive the sultan into believing him dead. Consequently, cenotaphs of Hasan Baba
exist in various parts, as at Kosovo, Üsküb, Adrianople,
Constantinople (in Divan Yölu), Anatolia and Egypt.
18
Ayverdi, op. cit., 98.
19
A. Kuran, The Mosque in Early Ottoman architecture,
Chicago and London 1968, 70.
17
H.W. Lowry, In the footsteps of the Ottomans, A search
for sacred space & architecture monuments in Northern
Greece, Istanbul 2009, 28-30.
21
Tevik, op. cit., 214, 222; M. Cohen,’Villes macédoniennes. Florina-Nevoljani’, La Géographie, vol. 34, Paris
1920, 97-114. In the neighboring town of Hlerin/Florina,
a former quarter was called Hamza Bey, also known as
Kourshoumli or Imaret, and had two mosques: one was
Hamza Bey or Kourshoumli, and the second one was Yeni
Cami. Tomovski, op. cit., 1957, 54; Ayverdi, op. cit., 97;
Momidić-Petkova, op. cit., 1988-89, 99.
22
M. Kiel, Studies on the Ottoman Architecture of the Balkans, Aldershot, Brookield 1990, I/131-134.
20
292
part of the eighteen century the year ‘1798’ written
in red paint was still visible on the southern side of
the mosque’ drum.24 It might be that that was the year
of renovation. According to the preserved marble
plaque inscription from 1857-58, another renovation
was completed. A simple portico was added at that
time. Some donors contributed to the mosque complex: Defterdar Ali in 1853 and Emir Paşa in 1864.
That was one of the reasons this mosque was known
under the names Defterdar Ali and Emir Paşa in the
19th century.25 At its zenith the whole mosque complex consisted of a mosque, a Sibyan mekteb from
1716, a medrese ‘Tevikiye’, a Halveti tekke with a
mausoleum on the opposite side of the street and a
dervish cemetery within the walled courtyard.
The three şeyks, Ibrahim, Abdul Kerim and Ahmed,
were the spiritual leaders of the branch of Halveti
dervishes at the end of the eighteen-century and they
were followers of Halveti şeyk Mehmed Hayati.26 he
was a Sui leader from the second half of the 18th
century and he was a founder of Astahane-yi Hayatiyye in the neighboring town of Ohri/Ohrid. His central tekke had subsidiary branches through Macedonia (in Kesrye/Kastoria) and Albania.27 he settled in
Ohrid where he adapted an old medrese into the irst
tekke of the Halveti Hayati order. For Bitola/Manastır
the major center of the Halveti order was the zaviye
at the mosque of Üç Şeyhler. One part of the branch
was also present in the
nearby town of Hlerin/
Filurina.28
The plan of the
mosque is a rectangular base measuring
8.90 x 10.21m, a sort
of simpliied ‘Zaviye
mosque’, with a protruding
rectangular
apse, measuring 5.50
x 2.60 m. The mihrab
is placed in the apsidal niche, creating a
division of the central
place in two parts.29 a
lat-topped roof covers
the apse and there are
Fig. 4, The mosque of Three Sheyks
Fig. 4a, The mosque of Three Sheyks
Bitola’s mosque of Three Sheyks was a center of the
Halveti Sui order’s activities in the town. The vakıf
of this mosque was mentioned for the irst time in
1633 and the building was recorded in 1634 as an endowment of Hamza Bey. These dates come from the
court record preserved in Manastır.23 In the second
23
Momidić-Petkova, op. cit., 98; Turski dokumenti za is293
torijata na makedonskiot narod, (ed. V. Boškov), Ser.I,
vol.2, (1607-1699), Skopje 1966, sicil 3/p. 33 a-I.
24
Tomovski, op. cit., 1957, 54.
25
Momidić-Petkova, op. cit., 1988, 98, 99; Tevik, op. cit., 222.
26
Tevik, op. cit., 234.
27
F.de Yong, ‘Khalwattiyya’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, (ed.
E.van Donzel et alli), vol. IV, Leiden 1978, 991.
28
Cohen, op. cit., 112.
29
G. Goodwin, ‘The Dervish Architecture in Anatolia’,
The Dervish lodge, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford 1992,
jevo of 1531, the Ferhadiyye in Banja Luka of 1531
and so on.31 This type of mosque construction shows
the strong connections between local Balkan and
Byzantine traditions combined with Ottoman architecture.
A dome that is set on an octagonal drum by squinches
between the inter-sides of pointed arches covers the
interior space of the mosque Üc Şeyhler. Remnants
of colored ornament and rosettes in stucco decoration
are still visible in layers on the walls. The masonry
of the walls is composed of bands of three to ive
rows of brick and worked blocks of stone, with a inal
upper cornice of saw-tooth in brick. There are eight
windows in the lower level of the walls, crowned by
simple stalactite niches and above these lateral windows there are for arched windows.
The well-preserved polygonal minaret built of stone
and brick is 23.40 m. in high. It has a şerefe decorated with stalactites and a balcony with a marble
parapet. One enters the mosque building through an
added porch measuring 5m. x 10.25 m, with a sloping
roof.32 The walled entrance gate was once adorned
with a marble plaque, 35 cm. x 35 cm, that mentioned
the renovation of the building in 1273 AH/1857-58.
The tekke and the mausoleum of Three sheiks were
ruined already in 1911, but the inal blow was during
the First World War, when the town suffered heavy
artillery bombardment. These days the portico is used
as a dwelling and the mosque building is in disrepair.
some tombstones are still visible on the western side
of the mosque.
Fig. 5, ‘The Broken mosque’
two elegant arched windows in the southern Qıble
wall. The unusual design of the apse is a result of the
mutual inluence of Byzantine and Early Ottoman architecture, which has its beginnings in the fourteenth
century.30 This architectural element was introduced
at the mosque of Murad I in Bursa, the mosque of Yusuf Paşa of 1429 and the mental hospital of Bayezit
II built in 1485 in Edirne, the Mehmed Bey mosque
in Siroz built in 1491, the Hussamedin Paša mosque
in Štip, the Sinan Paša mosque in Prizren, the Alaca
mosque in Skopje, the Hüsrev Bey mosque in Sara-
The Yıkık Cami (Kırık Cami), ‘The Broken
mosque’. This small mosque, popularly known as
‘Skršena džamija’ was situated in the southern parts
of the town, at a distance from the market and on the
street, which headed towards ‘The Flax Bridge’ (Lenski most). (Fig. 5, ‘The Broken mosque’)
According to the local oral Christian tradition, ‘The
Broken mosque’ was originally the church Saint
Nicholas, which was converted after the Ottoman
conquest.33 The comparatively recent name of ‘The
Broken mosque’ is connected with the ruined minaret, which suffered heavy damage from artillery in
57-69. The Zaviye mosque combined the traditional prayer
settings with one or more adjacent spaces for secular use.
Similarities are seen at the Bayezit Paşa mosque in Amasya
and in Hudavendiğar mosque in Çekirce, near Bursa.
30
Kuran, op. cit., 1968, 121. The idea of placing the mihrab in the apsidal niche goes back to the fourteenth century. Two nearby examples of this are the mosques of Murat Hudavendiğar in Bursa of 1385-86, and Davud Paşa
in Istanbul of 1485. Because of this unusual discrepancy,
the apsidal niche is seldom seen in single-unit mosques
during the early Ottoman period. Then, many of the Sinan
mosques dating from the 1580’s have an apsidal niche. In
his formative years Sinan used the apsidal niche only for
a special purpose.
Goodwin, op. cit., 1971, 41, 382-386, 388-391; Kiel,
op. cit., 1990, III/443, VIII/158; A. Andrejević, Islamska
monumentalna umetnost XVI veka u Jugoslaviji, Beograd
1984, 30, 31, 40, 41; L. Kumbaradži-Bogojević, Osmanliski spomenici vo Skopje, Skopje 1998, 32-33; H. Redžić,
Islamska umjetnost, Beograd, Zagreb, Mostar 1982, 71-77.
32
Ayverdi, op. cit., 97; Tomovski, op. cit., 1957, 54; R.
Momidić-Petkova, ‘Hamza beg Uč Šeihler džamija vo
Bitola’, Zbornik na trudovi, vol. 9, Zavod za zaštita na
spomenicite na kulturata, zavod i muzej (1988-89) 98-99.
33
Hađži Vasiljević, op. cit., 20; M. Cepenkov, Predanija,
vol.7, Skopje 1972, 222.
31
294
the First World War.34 The
mosque was visited by
Muslims and by Christians, who lit their candles on the eastern wall,
a sort of religious syncretism not uncommon in the
town. The archaeological
excavations executed in
1974 did not reveal any
previous foundations under the mosque. On the
southwestern side a well
(0.50 x 1.50 m.) was
discovered, with some
fragments of marble and
human bones. The building was in bad condition
and it was demolished in
1974.35
The Broken mosque was a modest building, with a
prayer hall measuring 7.93 x 7.93 m, surmounted by
a shallow dome (6m. in span) resting on pendentives.
The drum was simpliied by using the corners of the
upper part of the pendentives. It was an ancient and
simpliied transitional type of early mosque. From
the square body, via the pendentives, the upper part
was transformed into a hemispherical shallow dome.
The masonry of the walls was a sequence of courses
of stone and four layers of brick, with a wall thickness of one meter. The upper parts of the building
were built of coarse stone and covered by terracotta
tiles. The minaret had a base built by stone and brick,
but the shaft and şerefe balcony were entirely constructed of brick. On the northern side a portico of
3.72 x 7.93 m. with a barrel vault existed before the
First World War.36
It is possible that the mosque was built in the sixteenth or seventeen century, as a product of provincial architectural conservatism.
The Eğrikaş Efendi Cami or Ayşe Hatun Cami.
This mosque was located on the eastern side of the
Upper Wood market, close to the dervishes’ tombs of
Tez Veren Baba and Yeni hamam. (Fig. 6. The Eğrikaş
Efendi mosque) This simple mosque building belongs to the period between the sixteen and the seventeen-century. The Eğrikaş Efendi , ‘The Gentleman
with the crooked eyebrow’, was the old name of the
building, probably connected with the founder. The
second name of the mosque was Ayşe Hatun after a
lady who renovated and donated a pious endowment
Tomovski, op. cit., 1957, 33, 34, 39; Ayverdi, op. cit., 107.
D. Ćornakov, Izveštaj od arheološkite iskopuvanja na lokalitetot Skršena džamija Bitola, fevruari 1974, (unpublished).
36
Ibid. A section and ground plan were made in 1974.
Fig. 6. The Eğrikaş Efendi mosque
Fig. 7. Paftali mosque
of one shop for the mosque. It was registered in the
Land Survey Cadastral archives of 1203 AH/ 1788.37
A hipped roof and old terracotta tiles covered the rec-
34
35
295
Ayverdi, op. cit. 96; I am very grateful to Mr. Sulejman
Ali from Bitola for the information concerning the Egrikas
mosque history.
37
tangular prayer hall of the building.
The type of building was provincial
and practical with a façade built in
a combination of stone and brick.
The mosque had a particularly high
minaret built of stone; the polygonal shaft had a şerefe balcony, and a
conical cap covered with lead. The
form of the minaret and the balcony
were characteristic of numerous
late sixteen and seventeen century
buildings. There were some parallels in Bitola, especially with the
Koca Kadı Cami, which is located
in the vicinity.
The Paftalı Cami. The mosque is
situated in the northern part of the
town, on the slopes of the hill Bayır,
close to the old fountain called
‘Soḡuk çeşme.’ (Fig. 7, Paftali
mosque) That was one of the oldest parts of the Ottoman town, since
the conquest, and it was known as
the district ‘Bayır mahalle.’
There are no data, nor any inscriptions preserved about the Paftalı
mosque. According to Ayverdi
the name ‘Paftalı’ is unusual for a
mosque. In the past a small graveyard used to exist and a Mekteb
school was part of the mosque. At
the end of the 19th century an additional rectangular prayer hall
was built on the southern side.
The mosque was covered by sheet
lead, which disappeared a long time
ago.38
The modest, but harmonious
mosque has a square base measuring 5.80 m. x 5.80 m. The interior space is topped by a octagonal
drum with dome on four deep-sitting pendentives, which are visible
from outside. On the southern façade, there are two
rectangular windows each in a marble frame crowned
by a decoratively executed relieving arch of bricks.
The mosque is built of fairly good Cloisonné work,
mostly of coarse blocks of stone with three courses
of brick and worked blocks of porous ashlar at the
corners. A long time ago the entrance was from the
Fig. 8. An unknown mosque
Fig. 9. Kızlar Bey Türbe
eastern side, but now it is through the minaret base.
The minaret built on the western side is unusually
attached to the prayer hall and to the dome, and its
entrance is from the street. The masonry of the base
and the polygonal shaft are of ine worked ashlar
stone, but the balcony is built of brick. The mosque
and the minaret are provincial representatives of
Early Classical Ottoman architecture. There are similarities with the architecture of the Broken mosque
(Kırık Cami) which was situated on the southern side
of town, over the river Dragor. There is a tomb inside the prayer hall of unknown origin. This type of
mosque has some features of a mausoleum building.
38
Turski dokumenti za istorijata na makedonskiot narod,
(ed. M.Sokoloski), Ser.I, vol 3, (1636-1639), Skopje 1969,
174, sicil 6, page 1-b/III; Tevik, op. cit., 221. I am indebted to my friend and colleague, professor Mudzaid Asimov
for the information and help.
296
The single-domed building of the Paftalı mosque is
in a bad state of disrepair. The 19th century prayer
hall on the southern side is now used as a carpenter’s
workshop.
The Sabuni Cami or Sapuncu Cami. This mosque
was mentioned in 1639 when the muezzin Ümer was
appointed for service. The mosque was located in the
quarter of Kara Oğlan, between the Sungur Çavuş
mosque and the Haydar Kadı mosque, opposite the
Debboy hamam. Blacksmith’s shops surrounded it.
Tevik wrote a short biography about the local holy
man, Sapunci Zade, who was one of descendants of
the Sapuncu family. He was buried in the quarter of
Kara Oğlan.
Mescids. A number of mescids are known from historical documents.
The Şeyh Hızır Bali Mescid The mescid of Hızır
Bali was included in the Vakıf of the Vizier Ahmed
Paşa. In 1606 the vakıf had a fund of 60,000 akçe
with an interest of 9,000 akçe. The mütevelli was
Ömer Çelebi, son of Emir Şah.39
The Hacı Kethüda Mescid. Around the year 1610
Hacı Hüseyn, the Imam of the Hacı Kethüda mescid
and the muezzin Halil ibn Derviş were guarantors for
the Vakıf of Ahmed Paşa. Kurd Çavuş was the administrator of the vakıf.40
The Ahmed Efendi Mescid. Hızır Çelebi was the
muezzin of this mescid in 1610. In Ayverdi’s list of
mosques, a mosque of Ahmed Efendi cami was registered in the Cadastral defter number 93 of the year
1087 AH/ 1673-4.41
The Mahmud Aga Mescid. In 1610 Şaban Halife
was the Imam of the mescid. 42
The Kücük Sinan Mescid.In 1639 Ahmed Çelebi
the Imam of the Kücük Sinan mescid, went on pilgrimage. This mescid was located in the quarter of
Oğul Paşa.43 (Fig. 8, An unknown mosque)
Kızlar Bey Türbe, ‘The Open Türbe’. An open
mausoleum known as Kızlar Bey Türbe was located
at the Turkish cemetery on the northeastern outskirts
39
Turski dokumenti za istorijata na makedonskiot narod,
op. cit., 1963, 1 sicil 1, list 1b-8a; Ayverdi, op. cit., 96;
Tevik, op. cit., 227, It might be that the Hızır Bali mescid
was connected with the Halveti Sheyh Hızır Bali who died
in Bitola around 971 AH/ 1563-1564.
40
Turski dokumenti za istorijata na makedonskiot narod,
op. cit., 1963, 7, sicil 1, page 17b-19a.
41
Turski dokumenti za istorijata na makedonskiot narod,
(ed. M. Sokoloski, A. Starova, V. Boškov and F. Ishak),
Ser. I, vol.1, (1607-1623) Skopje 1963, 7 sicil 1, page 17b19a; Ayverdi, op. cit., 95.
42
Turski dokumenti za istorijata na makedonskiot narod,
op. cit., 1963, 7, sicil 1, page 17b-19a.
43
Turski dokumenti za istorijata na makedonskiot narod
(ed. M.Sokoloski), Ser.I, vol 3, (1636-1639), Skopje 1969,
262, sicil 6, page 18-b/I.
297
Fig. 9a. Kızlar Bey Türbe
of the town. (Fig. 9, Kızlar Bey Türbe) It was situated in the sixteenth-century town quarter of ‘Kızlar
Bey’ surrounded by vineyards. The türbe was built
on the top of the hill at the beginning of the sixteenth
century or later.44
According to the local legend published by Hasluck,
the open mausoleum was the spot, where the Muslim hoça was buried and ‘…someone dreamt that the
grave contained a body of a girl, and on examination it was found that the body of a Christian king’s
daughter had been miraculously substituted for that
of the khoja.45 A similar story existed about the türbe
of Kral K’zi in Skopje where the body of Catherine
Tomašević, the daughter of the last Bosnian king,
Stephen Tomašević, was buried at the end of the
ifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth
century.46 Similar legends can be found around the
44
Turski dokumenti za istorijata na makedonskiot narod,
op. cit., 1969, 52; Mihajlovski, op. cit., 2001, 69-70.
45
Hasluck, op. cit., 360.
46
Kumbaradži-Bogojević, op. cit., 124.
peared.50 The mausoleum was ruined in 1995 by an
earthquake, but in 1996 the Islamic community and
the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage
started a project for the reconstruction and restoration
of the Open türbe in Bitola.51
Closely connected to the Kızlar Bey türbe are some
open mausolea in Skopje, such as Kral K’zi, Hatunciklar, Altı Ayak, dated 1690, and Ali Paşa of Dagestan, dated 1774. There are similar turbes in Sarajevo at the Alifakovac cemetry and in Foča.542The
hexagonal base of the Deliktaş minaret of Bursa,
which served as Şadırvan, resembled Bitola’s Kızlar
Bey türbe.53
Through my resent ield research I have discovered an
old photo in the Museum of Bitola collection. A türbe
with similar architectural design, covered by terra cotta tiles was situated on the hill ‘Tumbeki’ above the
military garrison. This türbe where lied the body of
legendary local dervish, Ciger Baba, was described by
Hasluck and Tevik.54
Zandan Kulesı (Öcak). another ottoman monument in the town was connected with the Sui order’s activities. It is a well-preserved stone tower,
which stands in the schoolyard on the western side
of the town. (Fig. 10) At the beginning of the last
century the tower was in a private property surrounded by a 3 m. high wall. It was situated in the
area among the town quarters of Hamza Bey, Sinan
Bey and Kaygusız, near the mosques Üç Şeyhler and
Zandancık or Derviş Cami.55
The founder and the spiritual father of Zandan kule
was Hacı Mahmud efendi, also known as Kuleli
Müfti Şeyh Mahmud efendi or Hırka Baba. Around
1038 AH/ 1628 he was Müfti of Manastır. After a few
years he retreated and became ‘a learned Nakşbendi
divine’ and a Şeyk of a branch of Nakşbendi dervishes. He built a stone tower (Kulah) on his property
Fig. 10. Zandan Kulesı (Öcak)
Mediterranean region; at Mecca, Nablus, Egypt and
Algiers.47 In Hasluck’s opinion women commonly
built open türbes for their own shelter and retreat and
for other women mourning their dead.48
The Kızlar Bey türbe had a square base with dimensions of 5.16 x 5.31 m. and a height of 7.76 m. The
mausoleum had an octagonal dome 3.10 m. in span,
on pendentives, carried by four huge corner piers
measuring 1.03 x 1.03 m. The building material was
dressed stone, which alternated with three courses of
brick. There was meander decoration on the façade
made out of brick (a shallow and a developed type).
Saw-tooth cornices topped the decorative friezes.
Terracotta tiles with a marble alem on the top covered
the upper part of the dome.49 When it was visited and
drawn by Edward Lear in 1848 a marble cenotaph
was still visible under the türbe, but later it disap-
E. Lear, Journals of a Landscape Painter in Greece and
Albania, London, Melbourne, Auckland, Johannesburg
1988, 79.
51
Mihajlovski, op. cit., 2001, 70.
52
Redžić, op. cit., 81.
53
Goodwin, op. cit., 1971, 65.
54
Tevik, op. cit. 217-218; Hasluck, op. cit., 358-359.
55
Ayverdi, op. cit., 109. The name Zandan kule means
that the tower was temporary used as a prison. The second name, ‘Oçak’ denotes tower as a center for spiritual
activities. D. Dimitrovski, Elaborat za kulturno-istoriskiot
spomenik ‘Zandan kule’ vo Bitola, Bitola 1966, 1-5. According to the local Imam Mr. Necip Ahmed the Turkish
name for prison was Hapsane. In the past there were only
two prisons in Bitola: Çingel Karakol in the eastern parts
of the town and another one close to the Eski Çifte Hammam. Momidić-Petkova, op. cit., 1988, 95-107; K. Balabanov, A. Nikolovski, D. Ćornakov, Spomenici na kulturata
na Makedonija, (ed. B. Pavlovski) Skopje 1980, 200.
50
Hasluck, op. cit., 448.
Ibidem, 73, 350. The Kızlar Bey mausoleum in Bitola
was at an open türbe where local people used to pray in
times of drought. Contrary to the Muslim custom in ordinary prayers the hands of the supplicants taking part in the
appeal for rain extended their palms downwards or, it was
believed the prayer had no effect.
49
K. Tomovski, ‘Pregled na poznačajnite turbinja vo
Makedonija,’ Godišnik na Tehničkiot fakultet 1957/58,
Skopje 1957/1958, 107.
47
48
298
from which he got his nickname, Kuleli.56 it was the
residence of his family and a spot where he lived a
secluded spiritual life. According to legend, ‘one day
the şeyk disappeared mysteriously and none knew
where he died or was buried; the clothes he was
wearing, including the Habit (Hırka) were found in
the garden, the spot being marked by an enclosure
resembling a tomb on which candles are lit.’57 he left
his Dervish cap (Tac) and a Pouch (Çemer) that were
kept with the Khirka in a chest in the upper story of
the tower as relics. ‘The water in which the khirka
has been dipped has the virtue of killing or curing
sufferers from chronic diseases; it is said sometimes
to be administered without the knowledge of the patient by his sympathetic (or impatient) relatives.’58
The spouse of Hırka Baba also disappeared in a similar way, leaving behind her belt, which is ‘shown and
is worn by childless women in the hope of its removing their sorrow.’59 Hasluck met the old guardian
(Türbedar) aged 90 years, who was of the sixth generation of descendants of Hırka Baba. In the tower
was kept another relic: a hair of the Prophet’s beard,
which was sent in a bottle to the şeyk and taken three
days before Ramazan Bayram, on Leylet-ül Kadr in a
procession to the large Ishakkiye mosque, where the
faithful kiss it.60 In the upper loor was kept a collection of religious books and manuscripts from the time
of Kuleli Mahmud Efendi, but the Governor (Vali)
Huseyn Paşa coniscated them in 1280 AH/1863,
when they vanished.61
The Zandan kule tower has a rectangular base of 6.50
x 5.35 m. The wall thickness is between 1.08 and
1.22 m and on the upper parts it narrows to 0.98 m.
The masonry is coarse stone and mortar with a fourrow saw-tooth cornice on the top. The height of the
tower is 10.95 m. and a hipped roof in a combination
of terracotta and slate tiles covers it. The entrance is
on the southwestern side at a height of 2.30 m., and
is accessible only by a wooden ladder. On the upper
façades are pointed arch windows crowned by decoTevik, op. cit., 223.
Hasluck, op. cit., 358; H.B. Tanman ‘Settings for the
veneration of saints’, The Dervish lodge, Berkeley, Los
Angeles, Oxford 1992, 135, 169. The tomb of Hırka Baba
was believed to possess thaumaturgic powers that had the
sacred gifts of healing (şifa). The tradition of pilgrimage to
the relics was strong in the East. Such was the relic Hırka-ı
Şerif (The Mantle of the Prophet) in the Fatih mosque.
Hence pilgrimage to the relics of the saint occurred on certain Holy days and nights, when not only the members of
the same order, but also the local congregation visited ‘The
saint’s tomb’ in their local lodge.
58
Hasluck, op. cit., 359.
59
Idem, 359.
60
Mihajlovski, op. cit., 2001, 71; Hasluck, op. cit., 359.
61
Tevik, op. cit., 223.
ratively executed arches of brick. The interior of the
tower formed a three-storied building that comprised
a ground loor with a well; a mezzanine loor of 0.90
m, which served as a storage space, and in the upper loor a dwelling, which was equipped with different niches containing a lavatory, a hearth, a washing
place, a loophole and so on. It was a residential place
for the şeyk and his family to stay for a long period.62
At the time of the Ilinden insurrection in 1903, the
tower was temporarily in use for imprisonment and
that is how it was named ‘Zandan kule’ (The Dark
tower). During the heavy artillery bombardment in
the First World War the turbedar’ family members
also used it for shelter.63
This type of tower was commonly built in the western Balkans during the Middle Ages for different purposes. The Muslim Beys in Macedonia and Epirus
built them for personal protection as was the case for
those towers that are preserved in Skopje, Kočani and
Albania. In the mining town of Kratovo such towers
were commonly used to deposit monies or precious
goods and metals.64
The ottoman settlement transformed the mediaeval
Bitola into the city of Toli Manastır. Successive patrons embellished the town with mosques and other
public buildings. Amid these Muslim buildings there
were still churches and synagogues in the Christian
and Jewish quarters. The ‘Golden period’ of monumental sixteen-century architecture was already
gone, and throughout the city was rarely built new
mosques. At the beginning of the eighteen-century
the architectural activity was stagnant and mainly it
was inluenced by eclecticism of the styles from the
capital city.65
56
57
299
Dimitrovski, op. cit., 6-9.
Konstantinovi Brothers, Bitola, Bitola 1964, 91-93; D.
Dimitrovski, op. cit., 4.
64
K. Tomovski, R. Volinec, M. Tokarev, E. Hadžievskaaleksievska, Kratovo, Skopje 1980, 43-48; KumbaradžiBogojević op. cit., 217; I. R. Lawless, ’Berat and Gjirokaster: two museums in Albania’, Islam in the Balkans,
Edinburgh 1979, 9-17; People of Turkey: twenty years’
residence among Bulgarians, Greeks, Albanians, Turks
and Armenians. By a consul’s daughter and wife, (ed.
Lane Poole), London 1878, 229.
65
Contact address: Dr R. Mihajlovski, Australian Catholic
University, 117 Victoria Pde., Fitzroy 3065, Vic, Australia.
E-mail: robertmanastir@yahoo.com
62
63
Роберт МИХАЈлОВСКИ
Османска религиОзна арХитектура вО БитОла/манастир
вО седумнаесеттиОт век
Резиме
уч Шеихлер или Хамза Беј џамија. Се наоѓа
на западниот дел на градот, во некогашното маало Хамза Беј. Оваа џамија може да биде датирана пред 1634 година, а подоцна во 1857 година е
реновирана. И во Солун има џамија посветена на
Хамза Беј, кој бил воен командант во времето на
султан Мехмед II. Битолскиот џамиски комплекс
некогаш имал џамија со гробишта, сибјан мектеб,
медреса позната како ‘Тефикије’, потоа едно Халвети теке и турбе со гробови на другата страна на
улицата. Имињата на трите шеика биле Ибрахим,
Абдул Керим и Ахмед и тие биле припадници на
дервишкот ред Халвети, циј центар беше во Охрид. Џамијата е со димензии од 8.90 х 10.21 м, и
е од типот на ‘Завије џамии’ со една правоаголна
апсида каде е сместен михработ. Овој архитектонски елемент со византиско влијание може да се
најде низ џамиите во Едрене, Призрен, Штип,
Скопје, Сараево и Бања лука. (Фиг. 4), (Фиг.4а).
скршена џамија или уıкıк cамi. Се наоѓа во
јужните делови на градот, во близина на главниот пазар и ленски мост. Беше тешко оштетена во
Првата светска војна, но беше посетувана и од
муслиманите и христијаните во градот. Се веруваше дека оваа џамија бесе изградена на темели
од црква ‘Свети Никола’, но археолошките истражувања во 1974 години не го потврдија тоа. Молитвениот простор на џамијата беше со скромни
димензии од 7.93х7.93 м., кој преку пандантиви
бесе засведен со плитка купола. Тремот на северната страна со димензии од 3.72 х 7.93 м., беше
покриен со полу бочвест свод. Оваа џамија му
припаѓасе на провинционалниот архитектонски
конзервативен стил од крајот на шеснаесетти век
и почетокот на седумнаесетти век. (Фиг.5).
егрикаш ефенди џамија. Се наоѓаше на ‘Дрвен
пазар’ во близината на дервишкиот гроб на Тез
верен Баба. Имасе необично име ‘Џамија на господинот со крива веѓа’, и беше обновена од гос-
Османскиот патеписец Евлија Челебија, авторот
на патеписната книга ‘Сеjахатнаме’ ја посети Битола во 1661. Евлија пишува дека Битола е во областа Румелија, како Хас на Фатима, ќерката на
султанот Ахмед III. Со градот управувал војвода,
а имало представници на верските и цивилните
власти, со статус на шехер, како еден поголем
град во империјата. Градот имал убави џамии,
медреси, безистен, девет стотини дуќани, како и
имарети покриени со олово.
Шехер Толи Манаст’р поседувал јавни градби и
бањи кои беа делови од вакафите. Разновидните
пазари ја правеа битолската чаршија, безистенот
и арастата познати во овој дел на империјата. Но,
за разлика од градителскиот подем во шеснаесеттиот век, во седуманесетиот век не се градеа
толку монументални џамии. Тие беа изградени
на десната страна од реката како и во горните делови од левиот брег. (Фиг.1)
Во понатамошниот текст авторот прави една подробна анализа и опис на религиозното османско
градителско наследство од овој период.
Хасан баба џамија се наоѓа во западниот дел на
десната страна од реката во Маџир маало. Изградена е помеѓу 1628 и 1640 при султанот Мурат
iv, а обновена во 1883 од командантот на Третата
армија во Битола, Фазли Паша. Според локалната
легенда Хасан Баба е маченик кој се жртвувал за
својот духовен учител Џигер Баба и поради тоа
му била отсечена главата, но тој ја однел главата
на местото каде подоцна е изградена џамијата со
турбето. Оваа легенда има аналогија со христијанскиот маченик свети Јован Владимир кој бил егзекутиран во близината на Битола во единаессети
век. Џамијата е со димензии од 6 х 6 метри и е
градена е од камен со малтер, а минарето е подигнато во селџучки стил. Турбето со гробот е на
западната страна и е обиколено со гробишта и
надгробни споменици. (Фиг. 2), (Фиг.3).
300
поѓата Ајше Хатун во осуманесетти век. Зградата
беше едноставна, покриена со керамиден покрив
и имаше масивно зидано минаре со шерефе балкон. Стилски му припаѓасе на седумнаесеттиот
век и имаше сличности со Коџа кади џамија која
беше во близината. (Фиг.6)
Пафтал џамија. Се наоѓа во повисоките делови на ридот ‘Баир’ од северната страна, близу до
‘Соук чешма’. Според Ајверди името на џамијата
‘Пафтал’е невообичаено и е поврзано со коњската опрема. Некогаш во комплексот имаше еден
мектеб и гробишта, како и една молитвена просторија изградена подоцна во деветнаесетти век.
Главната молитвена просторија е со димензии од
5, 80 х 5, 80 м. и е покриена со осмоаголна купола
која стои на пандантифи. Минарето е од делкан
бигор и преку него се влегува во џамијата. Има
аналогии со ‘Скршена џамија’ и е примерок на раниот класичен османски стил. (Фиг. 7)
сабуни џамија се споменува во 1639 година во
маалото Кара Олан, помеѓу џамиите Сунгур Чауш
Беј и Хајдар кади, отспротива на Дебој амамот.
(Фиг.8)
месџиди. Има и неколку месџиди од овој период: Шејх Х’з’р Бали, Хаџи Кетуда, Ахмед ефенди,
Махмуд ага и Кјучук Синан месџид.
турбето на к’злар Беј или отвореното турбе.
Се наоѓаше во турските гробишта на североисточното предградие, во некогашното маало
К’злар беј. Слично турбе има во Скопје, познато
како Крал к’зи каде според легендата е погреба-
301
на ќерката на последниот босански крал Стефан
Томашевиќ. Димензиите на битолското турбе се
5, 16 х 5,31 м., со висина од 7, 76 м. Техниката
на градење е комбинација на делкан камен со три
реда од тули и со покрив од керамиди. Уште едно
слично турбе посветено на Џигер Баба, учителот
на Хасан Баба некогаш беше лоцирано на јужните падини на ридот Тумбе кафе. Слични турбиња
има во Скопје, Сараево и Фоча. (Фиг.9), (Фиг.9а)
И на крајот еден невообичаен османски споменик е кулата позната како ‘зандан куле’. Се наоѓа во дворот на училиштето ‘Стив Наумов’, во
близината на џамијата Хамза Беј. Кулата е изградена од Хаџи Махмуд ефенди, или Кулели Х’рка
Баба, кој бил шејх од Накшбендискиот дервишки
ред, а околу 1628 година бил и битолски муфтија.
Според легендата тој исчезнал оставајки ја својата мантија која потопена во вода имала лековити дејства. Се чувала во еден ковчег во кулата од
еден турбедар, заедно со други реликвии и ретки
книги. Кулата била изградена од камен со основа
од 6, 50 ч 5, 35 метри и висина од 10, 95 метри.
Оваа три-катна кула била опремена за независно
живеење, имала бунар, голема одаја, санитарни
простории и магацин за храна. Била употребувана и како засолниште во воено време, но и како
привремен затвор, поради што и го добила когноменот ‘Зандан куле’. Слични кули има во Скопје, Кратово, Кочани и Албанија и во главно биле
употребувани за заштита на семејствата или како
трезори за пари. (Фиг.10)
302