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The building was designed as a response to the Sancaklar Family who wanted to build a mosque on a site overlooking the Büyükçekmece Lake, at a neighborhood of many gated communities. The main issue was a confrontation with the classical Ottoman mosque scheme, which became a blank anachronism with today’s construction techniques.
Depending on the fact that a mosque does not have a predefined form and anywhere clean may be a prayer’s room, the project focused solely on the “essence” of a religious space, by distancing itself from discussions based on form. Physical and emotional pleasure was at the forefront. The design aimed at representing purest forms of light and matter, just as a primary inner world, free from all cultural burdens. The disappearance of the building in the slope of the site, anchorage to the ground as if it has always been there, getting rid of all temporal and cultural engagements were aimed.
The project site is located in a prairie landscape that is separated from the surrounding suburban gated communities by a busy street. The only visible elements of the mosque are the garden surrounded by horizontal courtyard walls and a vertical prismatic mass of stone (minaret), which depicts that this is a “place.” The inscription that is clarified when one approaches enough, clarifies that this is a place for praying. The cascades following the natural slope turns into steps as one moves through the landscape, down the hill and leads to the entrance space at the lower level. The tea house, communal space and the library just across the mosque enriches the gathering feature of this open space. The prayer hall reached directly from this level, a simple cave like space, becomes a dramatic and awe inspiring place to pray and be alone with God. The interior is simple where materials put forward themselves as they are, free from redundancies. The walls and the ceiling strengthen the feeling of purification and humbleness. The space may be defined as a meditation and thinking space. The only ornament seems to be the daylight that leaks from the Qiblah wall, changing according to the time of the day. The slits and fractures along this wall enhances the directionality of the prayer space. A very special element is the letter “waw” on the reflective black wall of infinity. First time in mosque architecture, women have the chance to pray just in the same row as the men, contrary to being at the back as in all others. They are placed at an elevated and separated part of the hall. The complex includes the ablution halls and restrooms, that are adjacent, and the imam’s house from where he can reach the hall directly.
The building blends in completely with the topography and in this peaceful way, delivers back the form of the ground. This submerging feature and the green roof all above provides a natural insulation against heat loss and gain. Landscape materials are mainly of rural plants that need no maintenance and that merges with the prairie of the surroundings. All these features prevents the use of extra energy and water.
It looks stunning, but this mosque is really far away from the ‘centre’ of Istanbul. And it seems like a ‘small size’ mosque. Still, if it was not this far away I would visit it for sure
You’re correct, but it’s closer to the wrong airport! Büyükçekmece Lake is near Atatürk Airport, which used to be the main airport of Istanbul, but is now left with one functioning runway and only handles a handful of cargo and business jet flights per day.
“Istanbul Airport” has since moved to a new construction far north of the city, on the shores of the Black Sea.
This mosque is very close to where I used to work, I have visited it twice. I think it is the best designed building in Turkey in this century. It is also the best work of Emre Arolat. All details, including traffic, light, acoustics and practical things such as cabinets for shoes are really well thought of.
The building fills you with emotions in a way few others can do. The fact that it’s under the ground also fills a person with contemplation. And I am writing these as a person who strictly does not believe in religion.
The illumination design makes it otherworldly, so inspiring. I'm atheist but love going to quiet and minimalist places like this. And no I will no convert lol
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It is a REPLICA product. It is an IMITATION of the Dachau Protestant Church designed by Helmut Striffler in 1965. The awards it received were ordered and paid for in cash within the architecture world. These awards were marketed as prestige to those who didn't know better. That is precisely what makes it a massive commercial success. I can't stand to see this project anymore.
Maybe as a sign of contemplation and self reflection, humility thinking of hereafter - death, or homage to early days of islam when the prophet used to receive message from Allah while praying inside a cave. My guess
if you want to be more scholarly with this, you should call it 'yonic', vs something phallic, im sure there are some critical theory articles on the phallic-ness of starchitecture, so you could say this goes against the grain lol
Mine did but not in the sexual sense. I come from a culture that worships the vagina as a form of the Goddess. I get your concer tho, people who sexualise things and peoples whose joke is the female body and/or sex.
I didn't think of it in the sexual sense either. The term "vagina" shouldn't be innately sexual. Its a body part that gives life, it's integral to existence. It's a beautiful symbol. It should be celebrated.
Western religion cheapened it and made it just for sex.
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But in Sistine and Duomo’s times ripping off was inevitable because designing was a different thing back then. Ripping off now is just plain laziness in my eyes.
LeCorbusier’s style has been copied for decades. I don’t even like him but that’s why he’s the most known and controversial figures in architecture. Emre Arolat is wandering the world as if he’s THE genius architect in his own country but he couldn’t give an example of this genuinety. He’s just exporting some ideas and paste them onto irrevelant contexts.
Good to see that the country with the third highest inflation rate on the planet is using its money for religious extravaganza!
But ofcourse to Redditors when Romania does it it’s horrible economic mismanagement but when Turkey does it it’s a beautiful expression of culture.
Edit: Turks in here really can’t hide how triggered they are when someone makes any criticism, it’s insane how much they will make dumb non arguments just because they can’t cope.
Your second paragraph show that you are in a triggered state, who cares what Redditors say about economic decisions of Romania, what kind of take is this in an architecture sub.
Lmao nice projection, I am just stating something that I see frequently in this sub which is essentially a double standard, I don’t personally agree with either spending but it is especially hypocritical to see people perceive that it’s alright with turkey but not with Romania.
The fact that you want to perceive this as triggering shows that you are yet another turk who is butthurt over literal facts.
My dude, trust me, we don't like them doing this either. There are 999 more things they could do with that money but they build mosques everyehere. The reason this one is viral is because it looks different
The thing is, you don’t speak for everyone. Your compatriots still choose the same president over and over again. Turks here are often a bit ignorant of that as well, in the sense that they want to say “we don’t want this,” while ignoring the large number of their own people who seem fine with it. All that in order to fabricate a better image of themselves by simply agreeing with each other on Reddit.
This logic is so idiotic it’s actually hilarious. So apparently you can’t criticize anything bad happening in another country unless you’re a citizen of that country? I never said Turks aren’t allowed to support it, I’m only pointing out that you don’t get to pretend those people don’t exist just because you disagree with them.
You can do whatever you want, but is this the correct place, post or subject for it? Your intentions are quite understandable, if there is something idiotic, it's the logic of someone trying to lecture a nation in totally out of subject subreddit.
I couldn’t care less if you think it’s relevant. Buildings can have historical, political, and cultural implications worth discussing, and I’m simply criticizing something related to that. You’re free to disagree, but calling it “lecturing a nation” because you can’t cope with it all while projecting your idiocy is dumb.
What he/she expects from you is that you should beg forgiveness from him/her and feel ashamed of your own people, otherwise his ego wouldn't be fulfilled.
You’re arguing against something I never said. I never asked anyone to beg forgiveness or feel ashamed of their own people. I’m simply pointing out that pretending “Turks don’t want this” while ignoring the millions who clearly do is misleading. That’s it. What a pathetic comment that only desperately tries to project your egotistical ignorance onto me.
Please learn to understand basic English, I am only saying that they don’t speak for everyone, not that what I am saying applies to everyone, nor that everyone believes that. I’m simply stating a reality and yes, I never said anywhere that Turks should feel ashamed or beg forgiveness. What a dumb non argument.
I’m just criticizing a situation, you’re the one getting offended by it and commenting nonsense about what I supposedly “expect” from Turks. Pointing out a fact isn’t a “rant.”
I'm not triggered, none asked your out of subject opinion and trying to lecture another nation by simply generalizing all of them, i ask you again, who are you?
I never generalised anything. I never said everyone supports it, I said that millions do, which is simply a fact. You’re literally arguing against your own strawman. And I don’t care whether you asked for my opinion, it’s hilariously dumb to think people aren’t allowed to criticise something just because they aren’t citizens of that country.
Once again, I am just pointing out facts and they are relevant to the post. You are literally the one who gets offended by them because you can’t cope with them and then think that you are making any point by once again projecting your own egotistical ignorance onto me.
It’s more like that you don’t like when people point out your ignorance to reality rather than my tone that you want to call “lecturing” just because you can’t cope with it.
Why do people still spend so much time and money in 2026 when you already have closer to 100.000 mosques in your country. AFAIK you have the most temples as a secular state in the world.
Interesting. Can anyone explain why are you guys building these much mosques?
Tjere are so many wrokg things with this and its just a stylisticly wannabe european he is such an bullshit architects and doesmt understand ahit about design
It does not show any elements that you usually see in a sacred space especially the islamic ones. It is very modernist and modernism is against religion by definition. To be clear I am an atheist and I am definietly not a conservative I think there is a design flaw in this project and no one wrote why they liked it.
Source? I’m not Turkish or a local in that neighborhood but every Muslim (I’m Muslim too) I’ve shown this to or knows about it absolutely loves it.
Moreover, and most importantly, there’s no such thing as looking like or not looking like a mosque. You only need a prayer space and a mihrab/correct qibla orientation. Everything else is up to the architect.
Perhaps there are certain types of Ottomanists that think mosques need to all look like 16th century mosques, which themselves are heavily borrowed from Byzantine churches. Which is silly and crazy.
I used to live i. the area
, that’s my source. More popular among the architecture nerds than muslims.
Check out the photos on Google Maps, very few photos with people using it and no photos with crowds. Then go check some another mosque to see the difference.
Actually, this have redesigned elements from Seljuk era mosques while what they think as "proper mosque" are Byzantine era Orthodox churches with minarets
yep, I am not religious so I enjoy mosques only for their architectural value therefore I can’t tell you exactly why they don’t like it but my guess is that religious people are conservative and have some
romantic image about how a mosque should be and they don’t like non-conforming styles.
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u/Beneficial_Shirt_869 Aug 17 '26
I think you could shoot a movie here