Antalya, Turkey – March 23, 2023. Kesik Minare mosque in Kaleici historic neighborhood of Antalya, Turkey. Known as Kesik Minare for the truncated min

Antalya, Turkey – March 23, 2023. Kesik Minare mosque in Kaleici historic neighborhood of Antalya, Turkey. Known as Kesik Minare for the truncated minaret surviving the fire which destroyed the mosque in the 19th century. The minaret was restored in 2019 and the building now functions as the mosque. It was originally built as a Roman temple in the 2nd century AD. In the 7th century, it was converted into a Byzantine church in honor of the Virgin Mary, but it was heavily damaged in the 7th century during the Arab invasions. In the 9th century it was repaired again. The minaret was added in the early 13th century when the Sultanate of Rum established their rule in Antalya and converted the church into a mosque. In 1361, when the crusader king of Cyprus took Antalya from the Seljuks, it was consecrated a church again, only to become a mosque once more during the rule of Sehzade Korkut, son of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II.