Ulu Mosque and Jesus Well

The mosque was built in the place of an old church called “Red Church”. As it does not have a construction inscription there is no clear information about its construction. The courtyard walls, columns, column heads and bell tower of the old building still exist today. The first narthex in Anatolia, which sits on piers and opens to the courtyard with fourteen pointed arches, each covered with cross vaults, is located in Şanlıurfa Ulu Mosque.

There is a well in the sanctuary part of the mosque. According to a popular belief, Edessa (Şanlıurfa) King Abgar V was the first Christian king. He accepted Christianity and also introduced his people a short time after the prophecy of Jesus Christ. Abgar V suffered from leprosy disease at that time. The king heard that Jesus Christ heals diseases; however, as he was too ill to travel to Jerusalem he sent a messenger named Hannan to Jesus with a letter. This messenger was also a skillful painter. After delivering the letter, Hannan tries to paint the picture of his face, but he could not. Realizing this, Jesus Christ washes his face and wipes it with a cloth, which he gives to Hannan. The copy of his face was imprinted on the cloth. Hannan returns with the cloth and a letter stating that Jesus has blessed Şanlıurfa. Abgar V recovers from the illness thanks to this cloth.

There are two different narrations after this point. According to the first, when Muslims dominated the region, the holy cloth (mandylion) was acquired by Muslim rulers. Some Muslims were taken hostage in a war against Byzantines. The Byzantines set demanded the sacred cloth in return for releasing the prisoners. Finally, they handed the sacred cloth and the prisoners were taken back. Thus, it is rumored that the cloth that arrived in İstanbul, first went to Vatican and then to Turin.

According to the second narration, the cloth is thrown into the well of a church in the place of today’s Ulu Mosque. This well is considered sacred by Christians, and its water regarded to have healing powers.