Purtio Mosque

Purtio’s interconnected mosque complex represents an architectural adaptation to the region’s harsh mountain climate: an elevated wooden bridge connects the mosque and madrasa, allowing students to pass between worship and study spaces without fighting through heavy snowdrifts. Most ornament in the prayer hall is applied, using the template-based designs common in the late-nineteenth century. Even the minbar crown utilizes some of the same abstract floral motifs found along the mezzanine railings. The upper panel of the minbar, however, features an unusual hand-carved relief of grapes. Each fluted doric column also includes some hand-carved floral elements around the base. The relatively small dome is currently unpainted. The entrance door, likely original, features traditional hinges and a stamped geometric pattern of stars and interlocking medallions. Wooden panels on the wall near the entrance combine the incised geometric carvings typical of local folk art with Arabic script. One reads “the mosque is the house of Allah” followed by the hijri date 1245 (1829-1830), a date also included on another wall panel. These plaques may have come from a previous mosque in the village, however, or an earlier iteration of the present mosque.    

DISTRICT : Khulo
LOCATION :  41°36’34.6”N 42°15’52.2”E
POPULATION : 787
CONSTRUCTION DATE : 1895 (hijri 1312)  
RENOVATION DATE(S) : Unknown  
CRAFTSMAN : Usta Omer Khuroghli (Laz)    
MINARET : Yes