مسجد الحاج سليمان Ceylan Ve Kadir Şimşek

Endowed through the joint generosity of Haci Suleyman Ceylan and Kadir Simsek, two local benefactors whose names the congregation preserves on its foundation stone, this mosque in Midyat offers daily prayers to residents of one of Mardin province's most historic towns. The tradition of naming mosques after their founders remains strong in south eastern Turkey, reminding worshippers that every pious endowment is a sadaqa jariya whose reward continues as long as prayers are offered within its walls. Midyat sits on a plateau between the Tigris basin and the Syrian frontier, a region of honey coloured limestone, terraced courtyards and stonemasons whose craftsmanship has shaped churches, synagogues and mosques in harmony for nearly two millennia. The Islamic heritage of Mardin reaches back to the seventh century opening of the Jazira by the companions, among them Iyad ibn Ghanm, may God be pleased with him, and later flourished under the Artuqid dynasty whose madrasas and caravanserais still ornament the old city. Notable scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah's teachers and later Kurdish jurists contributed to the religious culture of the surrounding hills. Midyat's regional architectural tradition fuses Ottoman proportions with the local craft of stone carving, producing mosques with delicate rosettes, pointed arches, and minarets whose balconies overlook plains dotted with vineyards and ancient villages. Daily prayers draw steady congregations, while the Friday khutbah attracts farmers arriving from nearby hamlets, market traders closing their shops, and students from Midyat's vocational schools. Ramadan evenings transform the mosque into a lantern lit gathering, with tarawih followed by communal tea in the courtyard, the morning of Eid arrives with the fragrance of freshly baked simit and the laughter of children in new clothes. Travellers exploring the monastic villages of Tur Abdin, the silversmiths of the old bazaar or the telkari workshops nearby will find this mosque a welcoming place for quiet reflection amid their journey. Local women's charitable circles prepare communal breakfasts of peynir, olives and fresh bread after each Eid prayer, offering travellers a taste of the generous hospitality that Mardin's mixed Aramaic, Arab, Kurdish and Turkish communities have practised together for many centuries.