Front of historical Istanbul mosque to be filled
ISTANBUL
Works have commenced for the remaining part of the Üsküdar Square Expansion Project, which was stopped three years ago when cracks occurred on the walls of the Şemsi Ahmet Paşa Mosque in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district, built in 1580 by the prominent Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan.
The distance between the mosque and the sea will be expanded by seven meters and will be increased to 10.5 meters, according to the new project revised by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and approved by the Council of Monuments.
Kadir Topbaş, the mayor at the time, had stopped the project and put it on the shelf to re-evaluate the project when the plans received reaction because the mosque was far from the sea and it was not suitable for the appearance of the historical building.
Üsküdar Mayor Hilmi Türkmen had said that the plan subject to objections will be renegotiated, terracing on the sea will be done either by pontoon method or that section will be preserved as it is.
Türkmen thanked Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the Council of Monuments, who approved the construction of the plan after the project was re-entered into force.
Üsküdar is a large and densely populated district and the municipality of Istanbul, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus Strait.
The square includes large historic mosques, many businesses, and markets and is a transportation hub.
