Turkey builds nearly 9,000 mosques in 10 years

Nearly 9,000 mosques have been built over the last decade in Turkey, according to statistics released by Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet). A total of 8,985 mosques were built between 2005 and 2015 in Turkey, while the Central Anatolian province of Konya contained the highest number of mosques, Doğan News Agency reported on Sept. 16.

There were a total of 3,134 mosques in Konya followed by the northern province of Samsun with 2,610 mosques. The province with the third highest number of mosques was the Black Sea province of Kastamonu, with 2,610 mosques. 

Ankara, the southern province of Antalya, the Black Sea provinces of Ordu and Trabzon and the southeastern province of Diyarbakır were among the other provinces with over 2,000 mosques. 

According to the list released by Diyanet, the eastern province of Tunceli had the least mosques with a total of 92. 

The western province of Yalova, the southern province of Kilis, the eastern province of Iğdır, the northeastern province of Ardahan and the northwestern province of Kırklareli were among the provinces with the least number of mosques.

Yalova had 162, Kilis had 216, Iğdır had 250, Ardahan had 275 and Kırklareli had 296 mosques, according to Diyanet’s statement.