Divriği Great Mosque & Hospital: The Portals Nobody Expects

✓ Last reviewed: 29 September 2026 — Verified and updated by İlyas Bayrak, licensed Turkish guide (licence 070867), with the My Turkey Adventure editorial team. Prices, opening hours, transport fares and visa rules reflect the latest 2026 guidance. Quick Answer: The Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital is an unparalleled 13th-century architectural masterpiece in a remote corner of central Turkey, combining a mosque and a hospital under one roof. It is absolutely worth the journey for its four stone portals, which feature such wild, exuberant, and three-dimensional carvings that they look like nothing else in the entire history of Islamic art, earning it a coveted spot on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Fact Detail Location Divriği town, Sivas Province, Türkiye Period / Type 1228-1229 , Mengujekid Beylik / Anatolian Seljuk Architecture What It Is A combined mosque ( Ulu Camii ) and hospital ( Darüşşifa ) complex UNESCO Status World Heritage Site since 1985 Entry Free for the mosque (working place of worship); hospital hours/fee can vary. (Last checked September 2026 ) Typical Visit Length 1.5 to 2 hours Nearest Airport Sivas Nuri Demirağ Airport (VAS) Driving Time from Sivas Approximately 2.5 - 3 hours (170 km) Best Months May-June and September-October for pleasant weather What Is the Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital? Nestled in the rugged, mineral-rich hills of eastern Central Anatolia, the Divriği Ulu Camii ve Darüşşifası is one of the most enigmatic and breathtaking monuments in all of Türkiye. This is not just another grand Seljuk mosque; it is a declaration in stone, a dreamlike structure that defies easy categorization. Commissioned between 1228 and 1229 , the complex was the vision of two patrons from the local Mengujekid dynasty, a small principality that ruled this region after the Seljuk victory at Manzikert. The mosque section was built by Ahmed Shah, the Mengujekid ruler, while the adjoining darüşşifa (hospital or literally, "house of healing") was commiss