Mulla Efendi Mosque / Big Citadel Mosque • جامع القلعة الكبير / جامع ملا افندي • مزگەوتی گەورەی قەڵات

Built in the late 19th century, this mosque and its minaret were brutally restored under the Saddam regime in the 20th century. There were several mosques before, but only this survives. Its central location suggests it was built atop an earlier one. There must have been mosques as early as the Muslim conquest in 640 CE.

Several mosques existed, but only the Mulla Afandi Mosque remains today. Yaqout Hamawi mentions it in 1220 CE in his book The Compendium of Countries. Ibn Mustawfi referred to it as the Fortress Mosque in his book “The History of Erbil”.The Citadel Mosque was renovated several times. In its Mihrab (prayer niche), an inscription points to its renovation and rehabilitation in 1719 - 1720 . under the supervision of Abo Bakr Ben Mulla Omar. Before 1957 , the mosque had a large prayer hall with 21 domes resting on arches and columns, but it was demolished in that year and rebuilt with an austere modern design. Its flat reinforced concrete roof rests atop equally stark doors, windows and decorations. The minaret was left, but badly restored.