Built by Turkey, East Africa’s largest mosque to open in weeks
THE capital of the East African nation, Djibouti, is counting down the days to have the country’s largest mosque, constructed by Turkey’s Diyanet Foundation (TDV). To open in February 2019, the mosque stands on an area of 10,000 square meters and can hold 5,000 people for prayer.
EAST Africa’s largest mosque, built in the capital city of Djibouti by Turkey’s Diyanet Foundation (TDV), which started constructing the mosque in 2017, will open in February 2019.
Modeled in the style of classic Ottoman architecture, the mosque majestically stands on an area of 10,000 square meters overlooking the Indian Ocean near the Djiboutian presidential palace.
The mosque can hold 5,000 people for prayer, project construction manager Furkan Kazım Yüksel told Anadolu Agency (AA).
“There is also a green area and a courtyard modeled after the Blue Mosque in Turkey,” Yüksel said, adding that part of the mosque rests on the ocean, which made the construction very challenging.
Two minarets reaching up to 45 meters each mark one big dome and four small ones give the cream-white mosque building an air of architectural grandeur. Inside, a low-hanging chandelier brightens illustrious Turkish hand-drawn patterns.
“The compound also includes a quarter for teaching children,” he said, pointing beyond a fountain in the middle of the courtyard, which he said would be used for ablution.
According to Yüksel, most of the materials come from Turkey, including cut stones that are used in Ottoman-style buildings.
He said that the mosque is “Turkey’s gift to the people of Djibouti,” a country that Turkey came in contact with in ancient times together with other countries in the Horn of Africa.
“Our forefathers made contact with the people of this region in ancient times, and I feel honored to be part of this project,” he said.
Turkish Ambassador to Djibouti Sadi Altınok told AA that Turkey’s interventions in Djibouti, a small country of less than 1 million people, are not focused on the military, but rather on development and humanitarian support.
In addition to the mosque, Altınok said, Turkey has carried out several socioeconomic projects to benefit the people.
A pediatric hospital is in the pipeline, and a water dam is 50 percent complete he said, listing several projects Turkey has launched in the tiny, yet strategically important, country.