In the Paşaköy neighborhood of Taşköprü district in Kastamonu, northern Türkiye, the 126-year-old Esederesi Mosque continues to defy the passage of time.
Construction of the mosque began in 1880. After the death of the master builder, his son completed the mosque in 1899. The mosque is built entirely of wood without nails, using a unique interlocking system where corner notches fit together like puzzle pieces.
Located in the center of Paşaköy’s seven neighborhoods, Esederesi Mosque served as the village’s sole mosque for many years. Over time, additional mosques were built in other neighborhoods. Despite being open at all times, its central location makes it less convenient for daily prayers for villagers living farther away. Villagers primarily gather at the mosque for Friday and holiday prayers.
Village mukhtar Oğuzhan Şenel told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the community has worked to preserve the historic mosque.
“Our mosque is very special. It’s wooden and built without nails. As villagers, we strive to keep it alive. Especially on Fridays, we come to pray so that it doesn’t remain empty. In recent years, we repaired the roof ourselves, but it needs maintenance again,” Şenel said.
Yunus Çoban, a local resident, said, “We perform Friday and holiday prayers here. This is a historic structure, used for over 100 years. The villagers worked together to replace the roof tiles and maintain the mosque to preserve it.”
Ahmet Eker, 80, praised the mosque’s craftsmanship, saying: “This is a central place. People from other villages used to come here to pray. They showed incredible skill using wood.”
Recep Gökgöz, 85, emphasized the importance of ongoing preservation: “Now every neighborhood has its own mosque. Back then, this was the only one. We try to keep it alive and take care of it. We don’t want it to fall into ruin. We’ve maintained it as best we could, but now we hope for a proper restoration.”
