Emirzade Mosque in Chalcis

This mosque was built shortly after the conquest of the city of Chalkida by Mehmet II in 1470. The mosque is built on a square plan, with an octagonal drum surmounted by a hemispherical dome. Previously, the mosque likely featured a portico with three smaller domes, but the portico is no longer standing. Double rows of windows are present on the walls of the mosque, and the octagonal drum features windows as well. In addition, the minaret is no longer standing. The minaret and portico can be seen in a watercolor by A. Couchaud from 1843. The Halil Fountain, associated with the mosque, is carved from marble with an inscription dating to 1033 (1655 CE), as well as an inscription of repairs from 1174 (1796 CE). From his visit to Chalcis of ca. 1667, Evliya Celebi described the Emirzade Mosque as being artistically decorated, and mentioned that there were several dervish tekkes from the silsila of the Prophet's family ("Al-i Aba," the Ottoman equivalent of Ahl al-Beyt, p. 237). Evliya Celebi uses this term in referring to the Bektashi tariqa (as on p. 66, same volume), the Mevlevi tariqa (p. 155, same volume), and (presumably) the Kadiri tariqa (p. 359, same volume; the Kadiri order is implied but not referred to directly); elsewhere, Evliya Celebi refers to "all three" Al-i Aba orders, indicating that these are these three orders are implied in the term "Al-i Aba" (p. 381, same volume). Therefore, it is likely that the tariqa associated with this mosque belonged to one of these three orders. It has been noted by Liakopoulos et al. that an inscription inside the mosque from 1742 AD also suggests connection to a dervish lodge. "Emir" refers to a ruler or viceregent; "Zade" is the Persian term for "son" that was frequently used in Ottoman writings. Repairs were made in 1958 by the Archaeological Society, and in 1971-1972 by the Archaeological Service. Today (2023), the mosque is used as an exhibition hall.