After 6 years, the Turkish Mosque Reopens after repairs, 350-year-old Yeni Cami (new mosque) opened to the public on Friday.
After the mosque was fixed up, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went to the “Yeni Cami” opening ceremony in Eminonu.
“We finally got the “Yeni Cami” (new mosque), which had been closed for a long time while it was being fixed up, open. Our greatest strength will come from our unity and cooperation, “The president kept saying this
The mosque took 60 years to finish. It was started in 1597 by Safiye Sultan, the wife of the Ottoman Sultan Murad III. Hatice Turhan Sultan, the mother of Mehmed IV, worked on it and gave money to finish it in 1665.
Since 1356, the mosque has seen all of Eminonü’s hustle and bustle. In 2016, the General Directorate of Foundations started the restoration process. During the restoration work, about six years were spent trying to return the mosque to how it looked when it was first built.
About 175 tonnes of lead were used in the eaves and domes. Sandblasting was used to clean the outside of the building. With the hydraulic lime injection, the walls of the body and portico were made stronger.
During previous restorations, parts of the interior and exterior that were not made of the original materials were also fixed. Chemicals were used to clean some of the surfaces.
According to what the scientific committee decided, about 1,500 square meters of tiles were taken out and made stronger. Some of them were strengthened by micro-injections made right where they were.