Historic 'Dar ul-Hadith Mosque' snaps up nine awards

Editor

Aug 18, 2011

Edirne’s historical Dar-ül Hadis (Dar ul-Hadith) Mosque, which is famous for being an environmentalist house of worship, has proven it with nine awards presented from various institutions. The mosque, cleaned by volunteers every week, is also home to many different types of trees, flowers and domestic animals in its green garden.

Dubbed Turkey’s most environmentalist mosque, the 15th-century Dar-ül Hadis Mosque in Edirne has set itself apart from other religious sites in the country thanks to its landscape, domestic animals in the garden and community spirit.

Built in 1434 on the shores of the Thracian province’s Tunca River in the time of Ottoman Sultan Murad II, the mosque has proven its environmental credentials with nine awards from the Edirne Provincial Department of Environment and Ministry, as well as the Department of Religious Affairs and the Edirne Mufti’s Office.

Dar-ül Hadis has become a model for the country since it was reopened following renovations in 2000 thanks to community efforts, Imam Mahmut Eroğlu said, adding that the mosque was cleaned every Thursday with the help of volunteers.

Many experts have made contributions to the establishment of the landscape and environmental arrangement in the mosque, the imam said, adding that awards also motivated people’s efforts.

Different types of trees and flowers in the mosque’s garden, most part of which is a green area, impress visitors, with geese and peacocks in the courtyard enlivening the house of worship’s landscape.

The mosque remains a hive of activity at all times of the day due to the constant cleaning and presence of groups of people sitting in the mosque courtyard garden until prayer times.

The mosque’s single dome was rebuilt to match the original in 2003, while the floor is wooden. Meanwhile, the tradition of the “1001 Khatim” (the complete reading of Quran), which was initiated in the mosque by the sultan in 1435, still continues today.

History of the mosque

Historians are unsure as to whether the Dar-ül Hadis Mosque was built merely as a madrasah or a mosque with a madrasah attached.

One of the goals in building the mosque was to open a hadith school to teach the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. According to one story, construction foremen began gathering before sunrise one winter day in an isolated place on Kerme Kapı Street in the city. People were curious about what they would do there. After the Prophet reportedly told Murad II in a dream to build a mosque in the area, the sultan came upon the foremen in the vacant lot; the sultan laid the foundation for the mosque without delay after those assembled read prayers.

Dar-ül Hadis is also said to be one of the most important places where prayers are answered.

It is believed that the madrasahs were located on the left and right sides of the mosque, but they were completely demolished during a fire in the 1920s.

According to Anatolia news agency, 188 shops, 20 rooms, two bakeries, three houses, a bazaar and two villages were once endowments of the mosque, suggesting that the complex was once one of the most prominent centers for scholarship in the area.

Further information about the mosque can be obtained through www.edirnedarulhadisi.com.

(Hürriyet Daily News)