Turkey: Ancient minaret to be restored in Hasankeyf
Ancient minaret of Suleyman Han Mosque in southeastern Turkey to be restored in one month
Ankara
By Salman Tur
BATMAN, Turkey
Turkey is restoring parts of an ancient mosque after it was relocated to a new site.
The mosque was moved to save it from flooding when a new dam opened in southeastern Turkey.
The 611-year-old minaret of Suleyman Han Mosque is 36 meters high. Its restoration will take nearly a month.
The mosque could not be moved in one-piece so it was dismantled and each piece was given a number.
In the first phase, its minaret was transferred to a cultural park in the district of Hasankeyf in Batman province. Later, its door and fountain were moved.
Hasankeyf, 32 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of the provincial capital Batman, was declared a conservation area in 1981.
There are nearly 6,000 caves around the town that contain the remnants of Christian and Muslim worshippers, as well as a Byzantine fortress.
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