Erdoğan inaugurates mountaintop mosque in Rize

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated a mosque built on the summit of a mountain in his hometown in the northern province of Rize on Friday.

The lush mountain in Rize's Güneysu district known as “Kıble" refers to the Qaaba in Mecca, as the mountain faces Mecca, the sacred place to which Muslims turn during daily prayers.

During his speech at the opening ceremony of the mosque shortly before the Friday Prayer, Erdoğan drew attention to the aesthetics of the mosque building.

“Our ancient civilization had put forward aesthetics and shot seals to history with this aesthetic. Now, the same seal that has been sealed in Mount Kıble made us really happy," Erdoğan said.

The mosque on top of 1,130-meter-high Mount Kıble, which is known for being nestled among vibrant green mountains, was first constructed in the 1800s from wood and destroyed in a fire in 1960. Then it was replaced by a mosque made of stone.

During his last visit to the mosque in 2010 as a prime minister, Erdoğan instructed local authorities to restore and expand it and then he personally followed up on the construction process of the mosque, encouraging the crew to complete it as soon as possible.

The new mosque is 275 square meters with a 13-meter high dome and 27-meter high minaret. It has a walking trek and recreational zone around it.

A social complex with a walking-track has been developed in the new structure, while recreation sites and picnic areas along a road leading up to the mosque on the top.