The first Turkish mosque in Anatolia, which was inbuilt what’s at this time often called the Ani Ruins in Kars province after Seljuk Sultan Alparslan received the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, is being restored. The mosque, constructed by Ebu’l Manuçehr Bey in 1072 and named after him, might be restored underneath the coordination of directorates of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
According to an announcement from the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the Serhat Development Agency, working underneath the umbrella of the General Directorate of Development Agencies, has launched efforts to switch the mosque to future generations and increase its nationwide and worldwide recognition.
In line with this purpose, the General Directorate of Development Agencies and the General Directorate of Cultural Assets and Museums started work to absolutely reerect the mosque, which underwent restoration in earlier years as nicely.
Following the conclusion of the directorates’ work, a protocol on undertaking design and restoration was signed between General Director of Development Agencies Barış Yeniçeri and General Director of Cultural Assets and Museums Gökhan Yazgı. The signing ceremony was attended by Kars Gov. Türker Öksüz; Ahmet Arslan, the previous minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications and a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) parliament member from Kars; and Yunus Kılıç, an AK Party parliament member from Kars.
Under the protocol, 26 growth businesses working on a regional foundation round Turkey will present monetary help for the restoration undertaking. The Ebu’l Manuçehr Mosque is scheduled to be opened for worship on Aug. 26, 2021, the 950th anniversary of the Victory of Manzikert.
Crucial for religion tourism
Speaking after the ceremony, Kars Gov. Öksüz mentioned the restoration “might be an important step for us towards the event of religion tourism and rising the nationwide and worldwide recognition of our province.”
Yeniçeri, who visited the area final 12 months, mentioned they determined to reerect the mosque as quickly as doable and make it accessible for adhan recitation and prayers.
“One of the necessary potential topics of the Serhat Development Agency is tourism,” he mentioned. “As a sign of loyalty to those that adopted Anatolia as a homeland, we would like to reerect (the mosque) via the labor and cooperation of 26 growth businesses in Anatolia. This is a 5,000-year-old archaeological web site and 23 artifacts have been unearthed right here. We examine it to a necklace – every discovering is a ruby, emerald or diamond.”
Arslan mentioned: “We are proud of the efforts to convey to gentle such a precious work that we now have inherited from our ancestors. We are all wanting ahead to the completion of restoration and making it accessible for praying quickly.”
Yazgı famous that the work is being carried out on the instruction of Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank.
Treasures of Ani
The Archaeological Site of Ani, positioned on the Turkish-Armenian border, was a steady settlement from the early Iron Age to the 16th century. The space on the Silk Road was famous for its multicultural traits when it comes to urbanism and structure of the Middle Ages. Ani, which is the assembly level of the Armenian, Georgian, Byzantine and Seljuk cultures, has 23 registered monuments, together with church buildings, mosques, monasteries, caravanserais, baths, bridges and mills. It can also be dwelling to many examples of civil structure which were demolished and buried.
The Ebu’l Manuçehr Mosque, positioned 42 kilometers (26 miles) from Kars, was listed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Cultural Heritage List in 2016, together with different monumental artifacts from the Ani archaeological web site. The mosque, which has survived till at this time, is named one of many oldest Seljuk buildings in Anatolia. The ceiling of the oblong two-story constructing is embellished with wealthy Seljuk motifs. The mosque’s 99-stair minaret was used as a watchtower.
The head of excavations at Ani, Muhammet Arslan, mentioned that the minaret was constructed with a kind of stone referred to as “kufeki,” an ivory-cream limestone that’s quarried within the area. This stone is particularly used for decorative, wall, ground functions and mosaic designs.
“The inside of the mosque was constructed with three plates perpendicular to the qibla, the route Muslims ought to flip towards whereas praying, and vaults are created with these plates. These vaults function {decorations} reflecting Seljuk structure,” Arslan mentioned.
According to Arslan, there was an inscription on the western aspect of the mosque however, sadly, it has not survived to the current day, neither is there any details about when it was misplaced. The inscription says that the mosque was constructed by Ebu’l Menuçehr, one of many native emirs, on the behest of Sultan Malik-Shah, son of Alpaslan.
