Mimbar

The mimbar, made of ebony, the world’s longest living tree, is the same age as the mosque and is still in use. It is one of the finest examples of the kündekari technique in the making of mimbar’s during the Seljuk period. The carpenter who built the mimbar used wooden nails in the joints, adding concealed iron nails at points that needed reinforcement. It is one of the few mimbar’s in which all four woodworking styles are combined. Though in its general form and decoration it resembles other mimbars of its period, it surpasses them with the richness of its embossed inscriptions. The mimbar displays 21 sacred inscriptions in Arabic.

The name of the carpenter who worked on the mimbar for twelve to thirteen years, Ahmet, son of Ibrahim of Tbilisi, is inscribed in the ten-pointed star on the side facing the mihrab. The sacred inscriptions were done by a painter named Mehmet.