Ankara: A total of 25 million people visited Turkey’s largest mosque— Camlica Mosque since its inauguration three years ago, Anadolu Agency reported.
It is not only a mosque but also a complex, which includes a museum of Turkish Islamic art, a library, an art gallery, a conference hall, workshop and the newly launched Museum of Islamic Civilizations.
The 63,000-capacity mosque on Istanbul’s Camlica Hill in the Asian side of the city, was officially inaugurated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 3, 2019.
The Mosque built in the Seljuk Ottoman architectural style, and can be easily viewed from every corner of the city.
Four of the six minarets stand 107.1 meters (352 feet) tall, an acknowledgment of the Seljuk Turks’ victory in eastern Manzikert, now Malazgirt, in 1071 against the Byzantine army which opened Anatolia to Turkish settlement.
Its 72-meter (236-foot) high central dome represents 72 nations living in Turkey, while its diameter of 34 meters (112 feet) symbolizes Istanbul’s official license number.
A three-piece finial sits on the main dome, weighing 4.5 tons at a height of 7.77 meters (25 feet). It is the largest of its kind in the world. The 3.12-meter (over 10-foot) wide finial is colored with nanotechnology.
Its 5-meter (16-foot) wide, 6.5-meter (21-foot) high, and 6-ton heavy main gate is one of the largest ones around the world.
There are eight art workshops, an art gallery of 3,500 square meters (37,670 square feet), a library of 3,000 sq. mt. (32,290 sq. ft.), a 1,071-capacity conference hall, and an indoor parking lot for 3,500 vehicles within the mosque’s complex.
