Considering the absence of a large mosque in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, despite the rapidly increasing population, and the fact that there is not even a mosque to meet the worship needs of the people in Yenişehir, which is developing towards Çankaya, in 1944, the institution of having a mosque built under the presidency of Deputy Head of Religious Affairs Ahmet Hamdi Akseki. was created. The project, which was approved as a result of the competition opened by this institution and planned to be implemented in the Safety Monument Park, was later abandoned. The institution, which was named the Turkish Religious Construction and Sustainability Association in 1956, had a new project prepared in 1957 and with the interest of the then Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, it was decided to build a mosque in Kocatepe, a hill overlooking Ankara.
According to the project prepared by the architect Vedat Dalokay, the foundation of the mosque was laid in 1963 and the administrative buildings were completed in 1964. The system was very new for those years and a gym collapsed in Ankara where the same system was applied. Hüsrev Tayla and Fatin Uluengin undertook the project design work of the mosque, which is planned to be built on a 4500 m2 area as a result of a new competition opened, and the foundation was laid on October 30, 1967 and its construction started. started again. When Fatin Uluengin left in 1975, Hüsrev Tayla carried out the application and detailed project studies alone and the application supervision was given to him.
Kocatepe Mosque Structure
According to this new plan, which adhered to traditional forms, the mosque showed a scheme consisting of a central dome and four semi-domes resting on four legs. Only the rough construction of the mosque was completed in 1981 with the help of the state and donations from the public. Thinking that the works could be carried out very slowly and under difficult conditions, the association dissolved itself on March 15, 1981 and decided to transfer all its assets, including the mosque, to the Turkish Religious Foundation. The mosque, whose construction accelerated after the foundation took over the business, was inaugurated on 28 August 1987 by the then Prime Minister Turgut Özal.
The Kocatepe Mosque, which was magnificently built on a high platform, has a conference hall, library, gasil shop, parking lot, a large commercial center and administrative departments at the bottom. 56.30 × 56.30 m. The interior height of the mosque, which has a square plan, is 44.85 meters, and the dimensions of the twenty-six domed courtyard are 57×38 meters. Its mahfils are arranged in two floors and are connected to the mosque floor by six stairs.
All four of these stairs on the sides open to the outside. Thus, it was ensured that the congregation could be evacuated easily by using these four stairs outside the five doors of the mosque. In traditional practices, elephant feet are 5 m. Although the diameter of Kocatepe Mosque is 3.10 m. In this way, it is aimed to minimize the view inside the space. The height of the four minarets of the mosque, each with three balconies, from the terrace is 88 m. The balconies can be accessed by both elevator and stairs.
