Kızıltepe District Governor and Deputy Mayor Ahmet Odabaş, who is reviewing the restoration work of Kızıltepe Historical Grand Mosque which was taken by the Diyarbakır Foundations Regional Directorate of the investment program of the year 2015, stated that the illegal structures built during the former municipality period prevented the appearance of the historic mosque.

Restoration work started in 2015 in the 800-year-old Grand Mosque, which its construction was started by Yavlak Arslan from the Artuqids in the city of Kızıltepe (Qoser) of Mardin in 1200 and completed in 1204 by his brother Artuk Arslan.

After reviewing the restoration work, Kızıltepe District Governor and Deputy Mayor Ahmet Odabaş, made explanations to ILKHA and said that the restoration was made in accordance with the structure of the historic Grand Mosque and that they will perform the prayer in Eid of Ramadan in 2018 in the mosque.

Odabas said that the illegal buildings around the old mosque were constructed and covered the beauty of the mosque. Odabaş said that the Foundations District Directorate had to do expropriation work there. It has been tried in the past years they couldn’t be successful. Even after the decision of the Board of Protection, unfortunately, there are illegal buildings built during the formed municipality period, where the 8-storey structure was built around that beautiful masterwork.”

ILKHA