Religious adaptive reuse and spatial organisation: Comparing the Fisandon Church-Mosque and Nuh Paşa Mosque in Karaman, Türkiye

Abstract

Religious adaptive reuse brings inherited architectural arrangements into relation with new requirements for worship. This study compares the Fisandon Church-Mosque and the Nuh Paşa Mosque in Karaman, Türkiye, to examine those relationships through documented spatial organisation. The former is a Byzantine cross-in-square church converted into a mosque; the latter was founded as a mosque in 1596. A qualitative documentary comparison applies seven shared criteria to author-prepared schematic plans and the sources cited for each building. Three contrasts emerge. Four internal piers articulate the converted church’s central space, whereas the Nuh Paşa schematic shows no corresponding arrangement. At Fisandon, the western entrance follows the inherited narthex–naos–apse sequence, while the northern entrance faces the mihrab wall; prayer orientation consequently differs from the inherited church axis. At Nuh Paşa, the last-congregation area, hall and mihrab wall follow one sequence. Finally, the enclosed narthex and the externally attached last-congregation area have different boundaries and historical identities. The comparison makes the coexistence of inherited organisation and religious adaptation explicit without assessing functional performance. Because the buildings differ in period, tradition and original design, their contrasts cannot be attributed solely to conversion. The findings offer a contribution to understanding the conservation of these religious heritage buildings.