Turkey's largest mosque formally opens in Istanbul

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday attacks on places of worship stem from the same "dark source."

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Camlica Mosque complex, the largest mosque of Turkey, Erdogan said he is "determined to clear the nation and region of Daesh, PKK, FETO and Al Qaeda terrorists."

"Attacks in the name of religion on places of worship or innocent civilians constitute terrorism, not jihad," Erdogan said.

Albanian President Ilir Meta, Guinean President Alpha Conde, Senegalese President Macky Sall and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh were present at the ceremony, along with several other international representatives.

Overlooking the Bosphorus

The 63,000-capacity mosque on Istanbul's Camlica Hill in the Asian side of the city was opened by Erdogan for Friday prayer.

It is the country's largest mosque to date, located on a hill overlooking the Bosphorus Strait running through Istanbul.

Built in the Ottoman-Seljuk style of architecture, the mosque is readily visible from across the city.

The premises contain a museum of Turkish Islamic art as well as a library, gallery, conference hall and several workshops.

TRT World's Abubakr al Shamahi has more.

Symbolis and motifs

It sports six minarets representing six articles of faith of Islamic belief. 

Four of them are 107.1 metres tall, a tribute to the Seljuk Turks' victory in eastern Turkey at Manzikert in 1071 against the Byzantine army, which opened Anatolia to Turkish settlement.

Its central dome hangs 72 metres above the ground, representing the 72 nations living in the city. The second dome – with a diameter of 34 metres – represents Istanbul's official license number.

Sixteen names of Allah are inscribed on the inner walls of the dome, symbolising the number of states founded by Turks throughout history.

A three-piece finial sits on the main dome, weighing 4.5 tons and at a height of 7.77 metres and is the largest of its kind.

On the mosque floor, a specially designed 17,000-square-metre hand-woven carpet has been rolled out upon which sits the 21-metre minbar, a pulpit where sermons are delivered on Fridays and religious festivals.