The “Carol I” mosque in Constanța

On May 31/June 13, 1913, in Constanța, King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth inaugurated the “Melik” Mosque (Melik = royal), located on Independenței Street. In honor of the King, it also bears his name and is therefore often referred to as the Carol I Mosque. The mosque was built between 1910 and 1913 to commemorate the granting to the Aromanians living in the Ottoman Empire of the right to freely use the Romanian language in schools and churches. These rights were granted through an imperial decree (iradea) issued by Sultan Abdul Hamid II on May 9/22, 1905. The decree was announced through its publication in the newspapers of Constantinople on May 10, 1905, Romania’s National Day. The iradea recognizing the Romanian nationality within the Ottoman Empire caused considerable excitement among Romanians at the time, as demonstrated by the contemporary press. The foundation stone of the mosque was laid on June 25, 1910, and by the autumn of 1912 the construction was nearly complete. The mosque was built on the site of an older mosque dating from 1823. The construction cost 400,000 lei. The designs were conceived by architect Victor Stephănescu, an advocate of the Neo-Romanian architectural style, while the building was constructed by engineer G. Neculcea using reinforced concrete for its structure. The mosque was equipped with radiators and an electrical installation. It also received gifts from Sultan Mehmed V, including carpets, pieces of furniture, and two silver candlesticks, all valued at 100,000 lei.