Ulu Camii, Sivas

Overview

The Ulu Camii, the Great Mosque of Sivas, is one of the oldest buildings in the city. From Sivas, our Sivas and Divriği tour covers both in one day. From outside, it is a long, low stone hall. Beside it, however, rises a brick minaret that leans to one side, and that is what stays in the memory.

The Story of the Ulu Camii

Kızılarslan bin İbrahim built the mosque in 1196–1197, in the time of the Anatolian Seljuks. The sultan İzzeddin Keykavus repaired it in 1212, and the brick minaret went up in 1213 on an octagonal base. Much later, during a repair in 1955, workers uncovered the original mihrab (the niche that shows the direction of prayer).

What to See at the Ulu Camii

Inside, the mosque follows an early plan with a flat roof. Eleven aisles run across the hall on fifty stone piers, and the interior measures about 54.70 by 33.70 m (180 by 110 ft). Outside, look up at the leaning minaret, Sivas’s own small Tower of Pisa.

An Ottoman Cemetery and the Seljuk City

On the mosque grounds, an Ottoman-era cemetery holds 23 graves. The building belongs to the Seljuk core of Sivas. The city passed to Turkish rule under the Danishmends in the 1070s, and in Seljuk times its walls were repaired and the Ulu Camii and the hospital on the City Square, the Dârüşşifâ of 1217, went up. So after the leaning minaret, walk to the square for the madrasas of the 13th century.

How to Visit the Ulu Camii

The mosque has been closed to worship and to visits for restoration since 2025, so ask the Sivas Culture and Tourism Directorate before you go. Nearby, see the Çifte Minareli Madrasa, the Buruciye Madrasa and the Gök Madrasa. We add the Ulu Camii of Sivas to your walk through the old town. On the same walk, see the Şifaiye Madrasa and the Sivas Congress Museum.

Would you like to explore Sivas with a local guide, from its Seljuk madrasas to Divriği? The Ulu Camii fits the Sivas morning of our Sivas and Divriği tour, before the four portals of Divriği; our Sivas guide has the province.