Historical Vaniköy Mosque, destroyed in fire, restored

Fatma Aksu- ISTANBUL

The 358-year-old Vaniköy Mosque in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district, destroyed by the fire in 2020, has been restored.

The historical Vaniköy Mosque, one of the 11 mosques adorning the Bosphorus, was reduced to ash on Nov. 15, 2020.

The mosque was restored with the support of Mehmet Kalyoncu, chairman of the Kalyon Foundation, who lives in the Vaniköy region.

Providing information about the restoration works, Cemal Kalyoncu, an official from the foundation, stated they started this project voluntarily.

“Nobody told us to ’do it.’ We aspired to do that. It’s a job we do wholeheartedly. We need to protect some of our values,” Kalyoncu said.

Kalyoncu stated that 90 percent of the restoration works have been completed, adding that the mosque will be opened next month.

“One of our goals here is to make young people love the historical heritage and to enable them to establish relationships with ancient places,” he expressed.

Reminding that Vaniköy Mosque was last restored in the 1960s, Kalyoncu stated that they determined that some of the restoration works carried out until that time did not fit into the historical structure of the mosque.

“We have tried to restore the original essence of the mosque. The arches were covered with plaster, making them almost invisible. In addition, the mosque had a landscape design that will not fit the Bosphorus. Is it possible to have a palm tree on the Bosphorus? We will remove the palms and produce qualified landscaping.”

“After the fire, almost nothing remained of the wooden parts of the mosque,” stated architect Nuran Nar, the project manager.

“We learned that about a year before the fire, the survey of the mosque was taken with the three-dimensional scanning method to determine its current condition. This was a great chance for restoration work,” Nar explained.

“We are planning to exhibit a part of the burning wooden parts in the Hünkar Pavilion by providing static support. With this work, we will remind visitors of the painful memory of the fire again. Pieces of burned wood will also be utilized for lighting,” she stated.