Taksim Mosque () is a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

complex in

Taksim Square Taksim Square (, ), situated in Beyoğlu in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops, and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of th ...

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 ...

. It was designed by two Turkish architects in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style, and can hold up to 3,000 worshippers at the same time. Construction began on February 17, 2017, and lasted for four years. The mosque was inaugurated with a

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

attended by the President,

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

, on 28 May 2021. The land on which the mosque was built is currently owned by the Directorate General of Foundations.

History

The plan for a mosque in Taksim Square has been in the making since 1952. The "Taksim Mosque Building and Sustenance Association" was founded with the aim to construct a mosque in Taksim Square, but was closed after the 1980 military coup in Turkey. The Council of State stopped the Taksim Mosque project in 1983 on the grounds that it was "not in the public interest". The Taksim Mosque remained on the agenda of the governments of

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, bureaucrat, engineer and statesman who served as the eighth president of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th prime minister of Turkey from 1983 ...

in the 1980s and

Necmettin Erbakan Necmettin Erbakan (29 October 1926 – 27 February 2011) was a Turkish politician and political theorist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Turkey from 1996 to 1997. He was pressured by the military to step down as prime minister and was la ...

in 1996. The project has always been closely scrutinized by the media and has encountered legal obstacles because Taksim Square had been closely associated with republicanism and secularism. A court objected to the construction of the mosque on the grounds that it would be against the public interest. President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep is a Turkish name deriving from the Arabic name Rajab. It may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (1929–2017), Turkish fo ...

had supported the idea of the mosque since becoming Istanbul's mayor in 1994. The prospect of the new mosque was one element in the

Gezi Park protests A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park protesting ...

in 2013. In January 2017, the mosque was approved by the Cultural Monuments Preservation Board, which oversees the construction of protected, historic sites, thereby removing the last obstacle to its construction.

Construction process

Following approval for the construction of the mosque by the Istanbul #2 Regional Council for the Protection of Cultural Heritage on January 19, 2017, it was announced that some small offices and facilities would be demolished. Site preparations started on February 9, 2017. Ahmet Misbah Demircan, the Mayor of

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

District, named Şefik Birkiye the architect of the mosque on February 10, 2017; Sur Yapı was contracted to carry out its construction.

Location

The mosque is located just behind Taksim Maksemi, the stone water storage unit built by

Mahmud I Mahmud I (, ; 2 August 1696 13 December 1754), known as Mahmud the Hunchback, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730 to 1754. He took over the throne after the quelling of the Patrona Halil rebellion. His reign was marked by wars in P ...

in 1731. The mosque faces the Atatürk Cultural Center across

. The pedestrian shopping street, Istiklal Caddesi, runs off Taksim Square beside the mosque. The Hagia Triada Greek Orthodox Church is on the other side of Istiklal Street from the mosque.

Architectural features

Excluding the two

minarets 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 ...

, the mosque's height is approximately , making it the same height as the two historical churches in the vicinity. The mosque has been designed in a modern take on the traditional domed style associated with Sinan and has been cleverly tailored to fit its confined setting. The complex includes a conference and exhibition hall and an underground parking garage. The mosque's design contains details that are not found in classical Ottoman Turkish architecture, such as the shape and proportion of the oversized balconies on the minarets. The smaller cupolas surrounding the main dome are reminiscent of

Mughal architecture Mughal architecture is the style of architecture developed in the Mughal Empire in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent. It developed from the architectural styles of ea ...

in terms of design. File:Taksim_monument_and_mosque.jpg, Mosque with Taksim Monument in the foreground File:Taksim_Mosque_Dome.jpg File:Taksim_Mosque_Mihrab.jpg File:Taksim_Mosque_Minbar.jpg File:Central_Dome_in_Taksim_Mosque.jpg File:Dome_of_the_Taksim_Mosque.jpg File:2022.03.23-L1020968 Taksim Mosque at night, Istanbul.jpg, Night view of the mosque with Mahya lights welcoming the holy month of

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

History

Construction process

Location

Architectural features

See also