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Mosques of Southeastern Crimea (in Drawings and Lithographs)

Three mosques of southeastern Crimea — the Karagoz Mosque, the Kolech Mosque, and the Khan Ozbek Mosque (1314) — are monuments of medieval Crimean Tatar architecture from the Golden Horde period, captured in drawings and lithographs by Feodosia artists Vikentiy Russen (1840s) and Kostiantyn Bohayevskyi (1920s). Of the three mosques, only the Khan Ozbek Mosque has survived to this day — the oldest surviving mosque in Crimea.

Overview

Southeastern Crimea (Staryi Krym / Solkhat, Feodosia / Kefe) was the center of the peninsula's Muslim culture in the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, Solkhat was compared to Damascus, and Kefe was called "Kuchuk-Istanbul" (Little Istanbul). With changes in power (the russian empire, then the USSR), most mosques were destroyed. In total, there were over a thousand mosques in Crimea. Thanks to artists Russen and Bohayevskyi, a visual chronicle of three of them has been preserved.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Karagoz Mosque: located in the settlement of Karagoz (after 1948 — Pervomaiske, Kirovskyi District). Russen's 1843 lithograph depicts a rectangular building with a traditional tiled dome-shaped roof and a minaret; a typical example of Golden Horde-period Ottoman architecture. In Bohayevskyi's watercolor (1920s), the minaret is already missing its top. Dismantled during Soviet times — only the foundations remain.

  • Kolech Mosque (Kolech-Mechet): located in the settlement of Kolech (now the southern part of the village of Novopokrovka, Kirovskyi District). An example of Golden Horde-period Ottoman architecture. Repaired around 1917, it was damaged during the Civil War. In the 1950s, during the replanning of the village of Pokrovka, the mosque was completely dismantled. It survives only in Russen's pencil drawings (sketches for lithographs) and Bohayevskyi's watercolors.

  • Khan Ozbek Mosque (1314): the oldest surviving mosque in Crimea, located in Staryi Krym. It has a rectangular shape with a gabled tiled roof (characteristic of Anatolian mosques) and a unique entrance — a stone niche framing a carved wooden door. In Russen's drawings, it is in significantly worse condition (a damaged courtyard, a destroyed minaret top, ruins of a madrasa). Restored in the 20th century, it now welcomes tourists. In 1926, archaeological excavations were conducted on its grounds with the participation of K. Bohayevskyi.

  • Significance of Fine Art: the works of Russen and Bohayevskyi are one of the few sources of information about medieval Crimea. Thanks to these two artists, a visual history of the Crimean Tatar architectural heritage has been preserved, which would otherwise have been lost forever.