Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has opened the Museum of Islamic Civilizations at the Grand Mosque of Chamlaca. It is the largest mosque in the country, which was recently built in the Uskudar district in the Asian part of Istanbul.
The Museum of Islamic Civilizations displays many relics of Islamic civilizations and unique artifacts that trace 1,200 years of Islamic history, many of which have never been exhibited before.
At the opening ceremony, Erdogan said: “Each of our ancient cities is an open-air museum. Istanbul, which is the pupil of the eye of this geography, is our largest museum. While all classical museums preserve only the past, Istanbul is a museum where the past and the present coexist. “
“We present to you the newest pearl of Istanbul, the Grand Mosque of Chamladja, with its art gallery, library, conference hall, studios and museum. “This is our civilizational heritage – a sign of the richness of our geography,” he said.
Turkey has a very special geography that has played a leading role in history, as the cradle of many civilizations, he added.
“Our mosque and complex, which we opened for worship about three years ago, is a work that adds value to the skyline of Istanbul. The Museum of Islamic Civilizations is one of the most important parts of our complex. “The works on display at the museum represent the millennial accumulation of Islamic civilization, which has brought a whole new face to these lands,” Erdogan said, adding that the museum exhibits valuable works, including the Prophet Muhammad and the first copies of the Qur’an.
The new 10,000-square-meter museum houses works selected from the Topkapi Palace and Palace Museums, the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum and more.
With nearly 800 exhibits reflecting the development of Islamic art from the seventh to the 19th century, the museum includes 15 thematic sections, including woven Turkish art, works of art by the Prophet Muhammad and architectural and decorative elements in Islamic art.
Visitors to the museum will have the opportunity to see many more works such as representative prints of the Prophet Muhammad, the curtain of the Holy Kaaba in Mecca, the Sultan’s caftans, the notebook from the childhood of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and Ottoman coins.
The Grand Mosque of Chamladza is the most modern complex of its kind in Turkey. The mosque has six minarets, which represent the six pillars of the Islamic faith. Four of these minarets, which have three balconies, are 107.1 m high, and the other two minarets have two balconies and reach 90 meters in height.
The main dome of the mosque is 72 meters high, symbolizing the 72 nations. The mosque has one of the largest gates in a place of worship in the world, with its main gate 5 meters wide, 6.5 meters high and weighing 6 tons.
The mosque also has an art gallery of 3,500 square meters, a library of 3,000 square meters, a conference hall with a capacity of 1,071 people, eight art studios and an indoor parking lot for 3,500 cars.
