Kadı Kemaleddin Mosque minbar requires scientific preservation

Archaeologist and art historian Turgay Hortoğlu has issued a call for the scientific preservation of the historic minbar located in the Kadı Kemaleddin (Boyacı) Mosque in Gaziantep, Turkey. Hortoğlu emphasizes that any interventions to the structure must strictly adhere to the principles of conservation science, art history, and cultural heritage.

Research indicates that the minbar dates back to the Nurettin Mahmud Zengi period and shares a similar artistic tradition with the minbar of Al-Aqsa Mosque, leading researchers to describe them as “sister” structures. The minbar is notable for its intricate hatemkari decorations, which consist of tiny, millimetrically precise pieces of wood and other materials assembled with meticulous craftsmanship. These geometric patterns serve both aesthetic and symbolic mathematical purposes.

While the minbar shows signs of wear, including cracks, losses, and traces of past interventions, Hortoğlu argues that these marks should be viewed as historical data reflecting the object's evolution over time rather than mere physical deterioration.