Historical mosque in Didymoticho damaged severely by fire

Halit Habip Oğlu: “We expect that Greek authorities detect immediately the reason for the fire outbreak at Çelebi Sultan Mehmet (Beyazıt) Mosque which is under protection of the Greek Ministry of Culture as a cultural artifact and the offenders account before justice.”

A fire started at historical Mosque Çelebi Sultan Mehmet (Beyazıt) in Didymoticho affiliated to the province of Evros in Greece on 22 March 2017 towards morning. During the fire which is yet not known how it started, the roof, purely wooden, and many of internal parts of the mosque, closed for prayer for two years with ongoing restoration works, were completely destroyed.

According to the news in Gündem newspaper, the fire started on the roof where welding works were carried out and spread on all of the roof. As firefighters from Didymoticho and surrounding provinces had difficulty in responding the fire due to severity of the flames, firefighting efforts lasted for hours.

600 years old Mosque Çelebi Sultan Mehmet (Beyazıt) located in city center of Didymoticho is one of the most significant Turkish-Islamic artifacts in Balkans and Europe and it is also specific for being the first mosque constructed by the Ottoman Empire on the European Continent.

“The historical Çelebi Sultan Mehmet (Beyazıt) Mosque in Didymoticho, one of the most important artifacts of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, being damaged severely by fire made us very sad. This six centenary old mosque is one of the most beautiful examples of joint cultural heritage of our country Greece and motherland Turkey. We expect that the Greek authorities detect immediately the reason for the fire outbreak at Çelebi Sultan Mehmet (Beyazıt) Mosque which is under protection of the Greek Ministry of Culture as a cultural artifact and the offenders account before justice”, stated Halit Habip Oğlu, President of Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).

*Image: www.gundemgazetesi.com