Master plan for Çamlıca hill revealed amid controversy

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet Photo

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A master plan for Istanbul's Çamlıca hill prepared by the Environment and Urban Planning Ministry has been revealed even though the Culture and Tourism Ministry has denied the existence of a plan, daily Vatan reported today.

The master plan includes five different zones in a 250,000-square-meter area, including a 15,000-square-meter mosque that will be located at the highest point of the hill.

The ministry reportedly began to prepare the master plan on June 8 after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's May 29 announcement that the government would build Istanbul’s biggest mosque on the hill even though the Culture and Tourism Ministry subsequently said there was no concrete project to build the 15,000-square-meter religious facility.

None of the facilities in the master plan can be built until they receive approval from the Environment and Urban Planning Ministry, the report said.