Imaret Mosque
   Photo: Mosque Imaret

Imaret Mosque - a historical monument of the Ottoman period in Bulgaria, as well as the current Muslim prayer building - located in the city of Plovdiv. It is the second largest mosque in the city (after the Juma Mosque) and one of the fifty Muslim temples built in the city during the rule of the Turks.

The mosque was built in 1444-1445 gg. on the left bank of the Maritsa River (according to legend - on the site of an Orthodox church). Later the building was built minaret with an unusual relief brickwork. The mosque was named after a nearby shelter for pilgrims ("imaret" translates as "shelter for the homeless"), which in the XIX century was destroyed. The temple was built in the traditional style of Islam - is an octagonal domed building. Previously, the interior walls of the mosque were decorated with frescoes of the XVII century, but, unfortunately, to date, they have been preserved only in part.

It is worth mentioning that since Mosque Imaret is an active temple, according to Muslim tradition, the entrance to it is possible only under certain rules: the prayer hall is allowed to enter only barefoot and female visitors of should be covering the whole body dress with a handkerchief on his head .

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