Divriği Great Mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, may have been built according to the constellation Orion.
Divriği ulu Mosque, located in Divriği district of Sivas province, is a unique Anatolian Seljuk period work with its historical, architectural, artistic and cultural features. The work was built by the Mengücekliler principality.
It was claimed that Divriği Great Mosque was positioned according to the Orion constellation, as in the Egyptian pyramids.
Ahmet Taşkıran, Lecturer at Sivas Cumhuriyet University Faculty of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design, Department of Graphics, said that astronomy was used to determine the geographical location of Divriği Great Mosque.
Ahmet Taşkıran said that there is an astronomical connection between the Divriği Great Mosque and the tombs of Nureddin Salih, Emir Kamereddin and Sitte Melik.
Taşkıran said that he has been working on Divriği Great Mosque and other tombs for many years and that he has reached important information as a result of his studies.
“There were some researches I had done years ago. As a result of these researches, I obtained some data. As a result of these, with the help of today’s technology, I think that the tombs there were used to determine the geographical location of Divriği Great Mosque. In my studies, the harmony of the Orion Constellation and the location of Divriği Great Mosque attracted my attention. When we look at it, I think that the tombs were used in terms of exactly matching the angles in the Orion Constellation and finding the direction of qibla and the geographical location of Divriği Great Mosque in a period when there was no compass.”
Pointing out that there is a geometric connection between the mausoleum in the Divriği Great Mosque Complex and other mausoleums in the district center, Taşkıran told IHA reporter: “As you know, there is a tomb inside the Divriği Great Mosque. I think that the geometric structure that emerged from the relationship of this tomb with other tombs is not a coincidence. As a result of the research I did on this, I think that the Orion Constellation and the tombs there were used to determine the geographical location and the direction of qibla of the Great Mosque of Divriği.”
Taşkıran said: “Serious studies are being carried out in Egypt 4,500 years ago, which think that the three most important pyramids of the world were built according to the Orion Constellation. Stonehenge in England and the temples built by the Mayans were planned according to the sun and planets. Throughout history, people have used the stars and astronomy, they have navigated according to them and built structures according to that system. Of course, the most important aspect of this is the rising and setting of the sun. Even today, the positions of houses are adjusted according to the sunrise and sunset. When we look at it, I think that the Anatolian Seljuks in the 13th century also carried out studies related to astronomy and produced works within that framework. Likewise, the geometric structure of the doors in Divriği Great Mosque, the structures in the Shamanist culture they brought from Central Asia, when all of these come together and integrate with Islam, we can see that such beautiful results emerge when geometry and science enter into it.”
