Şakirin Mosque

History

The Şakirin Mosque stands at the entrance to the Karacaahmet Cemetery in Üsküdar. It was built by the Şakir family through the Semiha Şakir Foundation in memory of İbrahim and Semiha Şakir: after Semiha was buried at Karacaahmet, her children decided to build a new mosque. Construction ran from 2005 to 2009, and it opened on 7 May 2009. The name 'Şakirin' means 'the grateful.' It is a modern mosque that became a landmark: its interior was designed by Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu, who is described as the first woman to design a mosque interior. The architect of the building itself was Hüsrev Tayla.

Architecture

The architectural design of the building is by Hüsrev Tayla, while the interior is by the designer Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu. The mosque is thoroughly contemporary: a single shell dome of aluminium composite and two slender minarets, each 35 metres tall. Inside is a bright, open prayer hall with large glazed surfaces. The interior's chief accents are a turquoise-and-gold mihrab of an abstract, shell-like form and a huge asymmetrical chandelier of glass 'droplets,' positioned so that it is clearly visible from the women's section. The décor draws on Seljuk motifs reimagined in a modern idiom.

Facts

• The mosque's interior was designed by Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu, described as the first woman to design a mosque interior in modern Turkey. en.wikipedia.org
• Its signature feature is a large asymmetrical chandelier of glass droplets, visible from the women's section of the hall. en.wikipedia.org
• The turquoise-and-gold mihrab is an abstract shell form, and the interior is bright and open. lonelyplanet.com
• The mosque was built by the Şakir family through the Semiha Şakir Foundation in memory of İbrahim and Semiha Şakir. semihaibrahimsakir.com
• The building's architect was Hüsrev Tayla; the mosque stands at the entrance to the Karacaahmet Cemetery in Üsküdar. tr.wikipedia.org

Photographs

Sources

• en.wikipedia.org
• tr.wikipedia.org
• en.wikipedia.org
• semihaibrahimsakir.com
• commons.wikimedia.org
• Google Maps