This mosque has a lot of names. Kale Camii or Hisar Camii (Kale = Hisar = Castle) because of its location - Yılanlı Cami (Mosque with the Snake) for some not documented reason - Pir Ahmet Efendi Camii, named after the man who had it (reportedly) built - Boyalı Kadı Camii (Painted Mosque of the Judge), named because of its colourful decoration and after the man named in the 1671 restoration inscription, that also mentions Pir Ahmet Efendi as the original builder.

It has the looks of a classical Ottoman mosque. Its exact building date is not known, since the building inscription was not found. But, because of the founding of a vakıf (pious and social foundation) is attested by written sources in 1547, the mosque must date from about that time.
It has been restored several times; there are building inscriptions about restorations in 1671 and 1864. The most recent restoration took place in the 1990s.

On the picture: The mosque seen from the north. The adjacent cemetery is older than the mosque, since it has a lot of tombstones from the Karamanoğlu era.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: ‘Karaman (Tarihi ve Kültürü)’ (Ilhan Temizsoy & M. Vehbi Uysal) – Konya 1981
& Website of ‘karamankulturturizm.gov.tr’ .