مسجد Rizvaniye Vakfi Religious School

Overlooking the sacred pools of Balikligol in the ancient city of Sanliurfa in southeastern Turkey, the Rizvaniye Vakfi Mosque and its attached religious school are among the most cherished Ottoman foundations of the region. The complex was built in the year 1716 during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III by the Ottoman governor Rizvan Ahmed Pasha, whose endowment established the mosque, the madrasa, and other service buildings around the celebrated pool believed by local tradition to mark the place where the Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him and his family, was cast into the fire by King Nimrod, only to be saved by the mercy of God, who turned the flames into cool water and the embers into fish.

Sanliurfa, known affectionately across Turkey as the City of Prophets, honours not only Ibrahim but also his son Ishaq, his grandson Yaqub, and the Prophet Ayyub, peace be upon them, whose stories echo through its landscape of caves, sacred gardens, and ancient stone houses. The city lies on the northern edge of the Mesopotamian plain, at the foot of the hills above the Euphrates, and its history reaches back to the remarkable Neolithic sanctuary of Gobekli Tepe, dated to more than eleven thousand years ago. Every prayer offered at the Rizvaniye is thus placed within an extraordinary chain of remembered sacred presence.

The complex is a masterpiece of late Ottoman provincial architecture. A broad rectangular courtyard is enclosed by classrooms of the madrasa, the mosque occupies one side with a central dome and a slender pencil minaret, and elegant arcades run along the other sides of the courtyard, sheltering worshippers from the strong southern sun. The mihrab and minbar are carved in local honey coloured limestone, and carefully painted floral patterns decorate the interior. Plane trees and ablution fountains around the pool complete a setting of great dignity and calm.

On this page, visitors will find accurate daily prayer times for Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha at the Rizvaniye Vakfi Mosque in Sanliurfa, along with its address, a location map, and notes that help pilgrims, students of Ottoman heritage, travellers between Gaziantep and Diyarbakir, and guests from around the Muslim world, to attend congregational worship here while reflecting on the prophetic stories that saturate this timeless city and on the generosity of the Ottoman benefactors who left behind such a remarkable gift for every visitor to enjoy.