The mosque built in Taksim, one of the new symbols of Istanbul, opened to worship with Friday prayer with participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The sound of adhan and salat was heard from the minarets of the mosque in Taksim Square at noon, the foundation of which was laid on February 17, 2017, bearing the signature of architects Şefik Birkiye and Selim Dalaman. Before the Friday prayer, the Quran was read in the mosque, takbir and salawat were said.
President Erdogan was greeted by the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Sentop and members of the protocol upon his arrival at the mosque. Erdogan greeted the citizens from the courtyard of the mosque before Friday prayer.
In the mosque, which is one of the symbols of Taksim Square, the khutbah titled " Mosques: The Seal of Islam on Earth and the Conquest of Istanbul" was delivered by the President of Religious Affairs, Ali Erbas.
Erbas led the first Friday prayer after the prayers. Ali Erbaş recited verses from Surah Al-Fatiha and from Surah Al-Fath.
In addition to President Erdoğan, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Şentop, Vice President Fuat Oktay, Vice President of Sudan Sovereignty Council Muhammed Hamdan Dagalo Hmidti, Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu, AK Party Deputy Chairmans Numan Kurtulmuş and Binali Yıldırım, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın, Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya, Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Ekrem İmamoğlu, Deputy Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Tevfik Göksu, Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Brigadier General Nuh Köroğlu, Istanbul Police Chief Zafer Aktaş, AK Party Istanbul Provincial Chairman Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, Beyoğlu Mayor Haydar Ali Yıldız and some AK Party deputies also attended.
The Friday prayer was performed using masks in accordance with social distance within the scope of the new type of coronavirus (Kovid-19) measures.
President of Religious Affairs, Erbas, prayed after the salaat.
In Taksim Square, which is surrounded by barriers and where LED screens are installed, citizens performed their prayers on the paper rugs distributed by the municipality.
President Erdoğan said that after the prayer, they gave the Quran as the Presidency to the mosque built in Taksim, with the calligraphy of Karahisari, the original of which is in Topkapı Palace.
While Turkish flags were hung on the mosque built in Taksim, a banner which is written "Welcome to the opening of Taksim Mosque, Mr. President," at the entrance of Tarlabaşı Boulevard drew attention.
Teams from Isparta Municipality's truck sprinkled rose water on Taksim Square and its surroundings.
While the police teams took heavy security measures around the mosque, some roads were closed to traffic flow due to the opening of the mosque.
Architectural Features
The project has a structure that architecturally both on the ground floor and the first basement floor combines Istiklal Street and Tarlabaşı Boulevard, one of the busiest arteries of Istanbul, and feeds this relationship with the social spaces it includes, and thus keeps the mosque structure alive.
Taksim Mosque offers access from all its facades with its stone and precast cladding facades and domes covered with titanium zinc alloy. In this project, which draws attention to the fact that it can create a focal point in the triangle of Taksim Square, Istiklal Avenue and Tarlabaşı Boulevard, the Top-Down method, which is one of the few applications in Turkey and in the world, was used as engineering in the mosque.
The only mosque where the "Top-Down" system is used.
It is stated that the most important feature of Taksim Mosque, which distinguishes it in terms of engineering, is the Top-Down system and that it is the only mosque where this system is used.
Thanks to this method, it was possible to construct the mosque without any damage to the square the surrounding buildings and roads without deep well excavation during the construction.
It was stated that the mosque was built with an original design inspired by the 19th century Beyoglu architecture by interpreting traditional mosque forms with modern lines and materials, and it has a cultural center where many citizens will come together with culture and art, read books, rest and benefit from its digital library, visit exhibitions.
Total prayer capacity is 4 thousand people.
While it is emphasized that the mosque has a land area of 2 thousand 482 square meters and a construction area of approximately 16 thousand square meters, there is an area of 2 thousand 950 square meters where prayers can be performed with a 163-car parking garage.
In the mosque, where 3 thousand people can pray at the same time in the worship area, the number of people who can perform the funeral prayer in the outer courtyard is 2 thousand 400. 620 women can pray together in the mosque, where 465 square meters are reserved for women. The total indoor and outdoor prayer capacity of the mosque is 4 thousand people.
The titanium-zinc alloy used in the dome coatings of the project was specially brought in. In the project, 3 thousand square meters of titanium-zinc alloy were used to cover the dome and roof, while the marbles used on the facades consisted of Emparador Light stones selected from Bursa quarries and Aero Cream stones selected from Antalya Demre quarries.
In the mosque where "naht" technique is used in interior decorations and calligraphy applications; The mihrab, pulpit and minbar design of the mosque was designed by Architect Altan Elmas himself as a modern interpretation of the traditional form. In the design of the mihrab, Asma-ul-Husna was written by calligrapher Davut Bektaş with "Istif writing".
In the project, 50 thousand 500 cubic meters of excavation, 20 thousand 500 cubic meters of reinforced concrete was thrown, while 3 thousand tons of reinforced concrete steel was used. 7 thousand 500 meters of bored piles, 310 tons of structural steel fabrications, 8 thousand square meters of facade stone cladding, and 1300 square meters of facade precast montage were also carried out.
Taksim Mosque offers a hall, exhibition hall, library and soup kitchen spaces in the basement and ground floors of 1,800 square meters, with total construction area of 2 thousand 482.46 square meters, the dome height of 33 meters, the minaret of 64.80 meters with 2 balconies, the oto park area of 10 thousand square meters, the prayer area for 4 thousand people.
Construction Process
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who promised a mosque to Taksim, won the local elections on March 27, 1994. "We will give Taksim permission for a mosque, and we will have President Demirel lay the foundation" Erdogan said.
The Prime Minister of Refahyol Government and the leader of Refahyol Party, Necmettin Erbakan, announced that they will lay the foundation of Taksim Mosque. A mosque could not be built in Taksim due to administrative and legal processes.
The process progressed and Refahyol government was overthrown with the post-modern coup on February 28, 1997. The Prime Minister of the time, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced that Taksim Mosque and Artillery Barracks would be built in 2013, but the construction of Taksim Mosque was delayed again due to the unfolding events.
After the coup attempt on 15 July 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued his goal of building a mosque in Taksim.
While no steps were taken in this regard until the approval of Istanbul Number Two Cultural Heritage Preservation Board on January 19, 2017, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed Turkish people resisting the coup attempt in Kısıklı on July 18, saying, "It's time to build a mosque in Taksim."
Z. Altan Elmas who watch the statement stated that the idea of building a mosque in Taksim was his dream and he wanted to construct it by meeting all costs as a benefactor. He aspired to this auspicious effort by telling the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak, who was with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the speech, via message.
Elmas Family undertook the construction of Taksim Mosque which has a history of 150 years by performing the idea of building a mosque in Taksim, which inherited from the elders of the family, with the approval of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Mayor of Beyoğlu at the time, Ahmet Misbah Demircan, officially announced in his statement on February 10, 2017 that the architect of the project was Sefik Birkiye and that the owner of Sur Yapı, Elmas Family, would pay cost of this project and dedicate it. Although the symbolic foundation of Taksim Mosque was laid in February 2017, the construction of the mosque, where only controlled hand excavations were made by the Monuments Board, started in June 2017.
Reference - Quote https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/taksime-yapilan-cami-kilinan-cuma-namaziyla-ibadete-acildi/2257073
