Historical mosque to be open to worship in March

The 600-year-old Güzelköy Mosque in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ's Şarköy district will be open to worship after a 400-day-long restoration, an official has said.

Nearly 2.4 million Turkish Liras ($325,000) was spent on the restoration of the Ottoman mosque, which was carried out by the Tekirdağ Municipality.

Examining the restoration works, Ahmet Hacıoğlu, the head of the provincial directorate of culture and tourism, said that the restoration process in Güzelköy Mosque, one of the first mosques built by the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Thrace, has come to an end.

Noting that they believe the mosque was built in the 1400s, Hacıoğlu said that the first maintenance work was made in 1708 as understood from the repair inscription located on the mosque's wall.

"The necessary works were made for the mosque, which was damaged again after many years, with the contribution and support of the municipality," Hacıoğlu said, adding that the building will be opened for worship in two months.

Turkish migrant families brought from Anatolia were settled in Şarköy's Güzelköy neighborhood as part of the settlement policy carried out as a result of the Ottoman Empire's conquest of Thrace from the second half of the 14th century.

The mosque, which was built with the settlement of the Turks, has a longitudinal rectangular plan and a wooden hipped roof and consists of a single-balcony minaret in the northeast corner.

Part of the east, south and west sides of the mosque is surrounded by a burial ground.

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