Kocatepe Mosque

Kocatepe Mosque
Kocatepe Camii ve Külliyesi
View of Kocatepe Camii
Location in Turkey
Basic information
Location Turkey Ankara, Turkey[1]
Geographic coordinates 39°55′00″N 32°51′39″E / 39.91667°N 32.86083°E / 39.91667; 32.86083Coordinates: 39°55′00″N 32°51′39″E / 39.91667°N 32.86083°E / 39.91667; 32.86083
Affiliation Islam
Administration Turkey government
Leadership Imam(s):
Mehmet Atıcı
Website www.ankara.bel.tr
Architectural description
Architectural type Mosque
Date established Pre-Islamic era
Specifications
Capacity 24,000 worshippers
Length 67 m
Width 64m
Minaret(s) 4
Minaret height 88 m (289 ft)

The Kocatepe Mosque or (Kocatepe Masjid) (Turkish: Kocatepe Camii) is the largest masjid in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was built between 1967 and 1987 in the Kocatepe quarter in Kızılay, and its size and prominent situation have made it a landmark that can be seen from almost anywhere in central Ankara.

History

The idea of building the Kocatepe Masjid dates back to the 1940s. On December 8, 1944, Ahmet Hamdi Akseki, the Vice-President of Turkish Religious Affairs, along with seventy-two founding members, established a society known as the "Society to Build a Masjid in Yenişehir, Ankara." In 1947 this society called for projects to be drawn up by architects, but none of the submitted projects were accepted. In 1956, through the efforts of the late Adnan Menderes, Prime Minister of the time, land was allocated for the project to build a masjid in Ankara, and a request for projects was made once again in 1957. This time thirty-six projects were evaluated, with the joint project of Vedat Dalokay and Nejat Tekelioğlu being chosen as the one to be implemented.[2]

Architecture

The accepted project was an innovative and modern design. The construction started, but due to heavy critique from conservatives for its modernist look, the construction was stopped at the foundation level. Vedat Dalokay later built a modified version of the Kocatepe Masjid after winning an international competition for the Shah Faisal Masjid in Islamabad, Pakistan in 1969. This masjid, which can accommodate 24,000 worshippers, is one of the largest masjids of the world, and accepted by many as the frontiers of modern Islamic architecture.

After a third architectural competition in 1967, a more conservative or nostalgic design by Hüsrev Tayla and M. Fatin Uluengin was chosen to be built. Completed in 1987, this project is built in a neo-classical Ottoman architecture style, and is an eclectic building inspired by the Selimiye masjid in Edirne, and the Sehzade and Sultan Ahmet masjids in Istanbul, which in turn, were influenced by the Byzantine architecture of the Hagia Sophia.

References

  1. ↑ "Location of Masjid al-Haram". Google Maps. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "Brochure by the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
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