Hacı Bayram Mosque

Hacı Bayram Mosque stands in the heart of Ankara's Ulus district, built directly against the ancient columns of the Temple of Augustus and Rome in an extraordinary layering of two thousand years of religious history. The mosque was constructed in the early 15th century — around 1427–1428 — by master builder Mehmet the Architect in honour of Hacı Bayram-ı Veli, the revered Sufi mystic and poet who founded the Bayrami order and was buried beside the mosque following his death in 1430. The building combines Seljuk and early Ottoman architectural traditions: a squat, wide prayer hall with a distinctive flat roof of leaded domes sits beneath a single minaret of Ottoman proportion. The interior was renovated in the 18th century and features tile work by Ibrahim Müteferrika alongside bold geometric border patterns. The tomb of Hacı Bayram-ı Veli, enclosed in a small türbe (mausoleum) adjoining the mosque, is a destination for religious pilgrims and devotees year-round. The mosque courtyard abuts the north wall of the Roman temple, creating one of Ankara's most photographed juxtapositions: Ottoman tilework and Corinthian columns separated by a few metres of open ground. Entry to the mosque is free and open to all; visitors are asked to remove shoes and dress modestly. Prayer times should be respected — non-Muslim visitors are welcome outside of the five daily prayer periods. A visit takes 20–40 minutes unless lingering in the courtyard.