Turkey: Ancient minaret to be restored in Hasankeyf

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.