Sabancı Merkez Camii () in

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

is the second largest mosque in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The exterior of the mosque (and its interior decoration) is similar to the Selimiye Mosque in

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

, though it has six

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s, similar to the

Sultan Ahmed Mosque The Blue Mosque, officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (), is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed between 1609 and 1617 during the rule of Ahmed I and remains a functioning mosque today. It al ...

(Blue Mosque) in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. The mosque, which went into service in 1998, was constructed upon a confiscated Armenian cemetery. It is built on a total of of land and has a closed area of . Sabancı Central Mosque was built jointly by Turkish Religious Foundation and Sabanci Foundation. The proprietorship of the mosque belongs to Adana Religious Affairs Foundation and its usage rights have been transferred to Adana Provincial Office of Mufti.

Architecture

Sabancı Central Mosque is built on the intersection of the main arteries, railway lines and roads that connect

to the surrounding cities and towns, has almost become the symbol of the city with its high

s visible from almost anywhere in the city. The Mosque, which has a capacity to offer service to 28,500 people, is famous for being one of the biggest mosques in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Located on the banks of

Seyhan River The Seyhan River (formerly written ''Seihan'', ''Sihun''; ancient name: , ''Sáros''), alternatively known as ''Sarus'' (or in Turkish as ''Sarus Su''),John Garstang and O.R. Gurney is the longest river of Cilicia and the longest of Turkey t ...

, Sabancı Central Mosque has a majestic structure with 6 minarets. There are eight pillars carrying the main dome that has a diameter of . The height of the main dome is from floor level. The four minarets, which are adjacent to the main building are each high and the other two minarets located at the semi-enclosed porch are each high. The Mosque has all facilities including 4 classrooms, 10 itikaf rooms, rooms of imam and muezzin, discussion rooms and the fountain. All of the calligraphic works in the Mosque belong to the Calligrapher Huseyin Kutlu. The tile work of the Mosque has been done by using Iznik tile work technique. Four big panels facing Kiblah are the world's biggest mosque panels in size. All painting and tile patterns in the Mosque belong to Architect Nakkas M. Semih Irtes. The niche, pulpit, platform, entrance and other doors are all made of marble and they have been designed in the style that is seen in classical Ottoman mosques and have been built by Nihat Kartal. The wooden doors were built in "kundekari" style by Ahmet Yılçay, all stained glass works were made by Abdülkadir Aydin and "mukarnas" works were produced by Ali Turan. The minarets have been built as armoured concrete which was produced by mixing white cement and crushed stone of ivory color. The internal and external illumination projects and inner sound system projects belong to Philips. Additionally, with the central radio system built in the minaret with elevator and realized by Aselsan,

sermons A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

are made available to 275 mosques located within an area of diameter by central broadcast system. On the west side of the Mosque, there is a classical and a digital library as a separate annex, open for researchers and the public. Honey sherbet is offered at Sebil Fountain on special religious days.

Gallery

File:Sabancı Merkez Camii 01.jpg, Just outside the courtyard of the mosque File:Adana_Sabanci_Mekez_Cami_-_panoramio_(1).jpg File:Adana_Sabanci_Mekez_Cami_-_panoramio.jpg File:Sabancı_Cami.JPG File:Sabancı_Merkez_Camii_3_(34360910156).jpg File:Sabancı Merkez Camii 02.jpg, An entrance to the mosque File:Sabancı Central Mosque - Adana.jpg, The interior of the mosque showing the symmetry of the mosque, the intricate artwork and calligraphy, and the decorative ''

ablaq ''Ablaq'' (; particolored; literally 'piebald') is an architectural technique involving alternating or fluctuating rows of light and dark stone. It is an Arabic term describing a technique associated with Islamic architecture in the Arab world. It ...

'' in the arches File:Sabancı Merkez Camii - Mihrab.jpg, The mihrab of the mosque File:Sabancı_Central_Mosque_-_Adana_-_4.jpg, Details in the pillars of mosque, including red and white ''

'' in the arches and ''

muqarnas Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...

'' on the pillars and on the

pendentives In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

File:Sabancı_Central_Mosque_-_Adana_-3.jpg, The minbar of the mosque with the mihrab on the left

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabanci Merkez Camii 1998 establishments in Turkey Mosques in Adana Mosque buildings with domes in Turkey Mosques completed in 1998 20th-century religious buildings and structures in Turkey Mosque buildings with minarets in Turkey Sunni mosques in Turkey

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References