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Kızılay is a district of Ankara with some nice pedestrianized streets full of cafés and restaurants.
Introduction to Kızılay
The district is named after the Turkish Red Crescent (Türk Kızılay), which used to have its headquarters on Kızılay Square (Kızılay Meydanı). It’s easily accessible by metro and lies south of Ulus.
Kızılay is full of ugly concrete buildings and the only real attraction is the Kocatepe Mosque. Unless you’re visiting the mosque or looking for a reasonably priced place to eat or drink, there’s no real reason to visit.
To be fair, we didn’t visit Güvenpark or the square. There was actually a lot of construction going on near the square so we stayed away. I’ll visit on a future trip to see it without all the dust.
During our visit to Ankara, we walked around some of the streets in the area and had coffee and dinner after seeing the Kocatepe Mosque. We found it to be a lively place full of students, young couples, and families.
On a sad note, the area was the site of a terrorist bombing on March 13, 2016. 37 people were killed and 125 were injured when a car bomb exploded near Güvenpark. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) took responsibility.
Kocatepe Mosque
The Kocatepe Mosque (Kocatepe Camii) is the largest mosque in Ankara and one of the symbols of the city. It can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. While it’s scenic to view from afar, it’s well worth visiting to see it up close.
The idea to build the mosque dates back to the 1940s. In 1957, an architectural competition was held and 36 entries were submitted. The winning entry was an innovative design by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay (1927-1991). The foundation was built but the project was abandoned because conservatives believed the design was too modern. A modified version of the design was later used to build the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, which is considered one of the finest examples of modern Islamic architecture.
Another competition was held in 1967 and a more traditional design by Hüsrev Tayla (1925-2014) and Fatin Uluengin was chosen. This design was inspired by the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne and the Blue Mosque and Şehzade Mosque in Istanbul. Construction of the mosque started the same year, and it was completed in 1987 after years of delays.
Features of the Kocatepe Mosque
The Kocatepe Mosque was built on an area of 4,288 square meters. It sits atop a shopping center, conference hall, and parking lot. The mosque has 4 minarets that are each 88 meters high. A modern clock tower stands in front of the shopping center.
The prayer hall is massive and can accommodate 24,000 worshippers. Calligraphy was done by Hamit Aytaç (1891-1982) and Mahmut Öncü. The chandeliers, mihrab, minbar, muezzin’s loge, doors, and tiles were all specially designed and handcrafted for the mosque.
The mosque has one large central dome sitting on four pillars. It’s 25.5 meters in diameter and is surrounded by 4 smaller half domes. The height of the dome is 48.5 meters.
The main chandelier is 5.5 meters in diameter with chains made of crystal balls. There are 32 satellite chandeliers and 4 corner chandeliers.
