Three-Centuries-Old Wooden Mosque Sold as Firewood Saved Through District Governor's Initiative

A 300-year-old wooden mosque in the Yenidoğan village of Samsun's Salıpazarı district, which was sold for 1,400 liras to be used as firewood, was saved from being burned down at the last moment through the initiative of Kadir Perçi, who was serving as the District Governor of Ladik at the time.

During the field studies for the Ambarköy Open-Air Museum conducted in Samsun's Salıpazarı district in 2010, it was determined that the 300-year-old wooden mosque in Yenidoğan village had been sold as firewood to a baker for 1,400 liras. Learning about the situation, the then-District Governor of Ladik, Kadir Perçi, ensured that 50 more liras were paid so the mosque could be purchased for 1,450 liras and rescued from being burned. Registered in cooperation with the Samsun Museum Directorate, the parts of the historical structure were numbered and transferred to the Ambarköy Open-Air Museum with expert support.

Kadir Perçi stated that due to the forest presence in the Canik Mountains, numerous wooden mosques were built in the region during the Ottoman period. Expressing that 80 wooden mosques were registered and restored during his term of office, Perçi noted that this historical structure brought from Salıpazarı was named after Mehmet Efendi, one of the Ottoman Sheikh-ul-Islams raised in Ladik. Established on an area of 14,000 square meters, the museum aims to keep Ottoman-era architectural characteristics alive.