One Mosque One Founder: Kürkçüzâde Bican Ağa and Suruç Ahmed Bican Mosque
Chapter from the book:
Tansü,
Y.
E.
(ed.)
2023.
Selected Articles in the Field of History- VI.
Synopsis
One of the historical buildings remaining from the Ottoman period in the Suruç district of Şanlıurfa is the Ahmed Bican Mosque. The mosque, which underwent various repairs during the Republic period, is currently used as a place of worship. According to its foundation charter, the construction of the mosque was completed in 1887. The founder of the mosque is Kürkçüzâde Bican Ağa, one of the prominent figures of the Urfa. In this study, the historical process of the founder Ahmed Bican and the mosque is discussed. The main sources of the study are the documents reflected in the Ottoman archives. The most comprehensive information about the construction of the mosque is included in the foundation charter. There are various documents about both the patron and the mosque in the court records of the Urfa judgeship and other archive funds. Bican Agha's life, family circle and commercial activities are discussed from the notes in these notebooks, which are local history sources of the city. Information about the Bican Aga Inn, which is named after its patron in Urfa, is presented and evaluated. Bican Agha, a charitable person, had a bridge built over the Sacur River and the narthex of the Kutbeddin Mosque in Urfa repaired. After completing the mosque he had built next to the Government Office in Suruç, he ensured that officiales was appointed there. He also donated five shops in the center of Suruç and allocated their income entirely to the needs of the mosque and the salaries of the staff. The next year, Bican Agha, who went to Mecca for the pilgrimage, died there. Bican Ağa Mosque, which remained in its original state until the 1940s, has undergone various repairs since then. Since it was inadequate for the community, a new mosque was built next to it in 1975. In the 1990s, the old mosque became completely unusable and dysfunctional. It was repaired in 1996 under the leadership of Suruç District Governorate. Ahmed Bican Mosque was last expanded and combined with the mosque next to it during the restoration carried out by the General Directorate of Foundations between 2013 and 2017.