Kocatepe Camii

As I mentioned before, the view of Kocatepe Camii from Anıtkabır was pretty amazing and I made a note then that I had to find time to visit the mosque at some point during my stay here. Little did I know that my chance would come as quickly as it did! I had already made plans for the next day to meet with my peer tutor to practice speaking Turkish. We planned to meet at Starbucks (yes, Starbucks) so I assumed we would just hang out and drink coffee while trying to improve my basic Turkish small talk. When we arrived, however, she revealed that she had a whole field trip planned complete with a trip to a bookshop and a visit to the the mosque I had been hoping to see! As I said before, it was no small feat that I had managed to miss seeing the mosque previously since it is massive and done in the ostentatious Istanbul Ottoman style, which really stands out in the skyline of Ankara. Its four minarets and series of half-domes surrounding the big central dome is a familiar sight in the skyline of Istanbul, but differs drastically from the old Seljuk mosques and more subtle mosque styles normally seen here. Apparently, this was the cause of some controversy when it was originally built back in the 1960's. While I understand the desire to maintain the integrity of local building styles, the effect of the massive white marbled structure on the city's skyline would certainly silence my doubts (though admittedly I have little at stake in the debate).

Having visited a number of mosques in Syria and Turkey, both historic and more contemporary, I can never shake the feeling of discomfort that I am intruding on someone else's religious space. When I read that it seems like I am making some comment about Islam, but really it has less to do with the religion involved and more to do with the fact that the space is being actively used for religious services at the time of my visit. I had the same feeling in the Catholic cathedrals in Italy or at the National Cathedral in DC. Part of me will never quite feel right walking next to someone who in the process of practicing their religion and expressing their devotion to God just so that I can take a picture of the pretty mural or plaster work that surrounds them. Thankfully, the people in the mosques have never been anything but welcoming and have always been happy to have me and my fellow visitors come inside and have a look around. There is a great little mosque not too far from where Amanda and I are moving when i got back to Boston (oddly done in more of a Cape Cod beach house style!) and I am hoping that I will be able to make a visit there as well on my return.

As for this one, the inside matched the facade in being fairly breathtaking. The prayer space is larger than in any other mosque I have visited and lit by a large, sunlike central lamp surrounded by a number of others. The dome and ceilings are painted in beautiful colors reminiscent of a lot of the Ottoman glazed tile work that is now so familiar to me. In some of the pictures you can also see the balconies that line the exterior walls for at least three stories and must provide a great view of the decorative elements inside the domes. I will have to make a return visit at some point to find out. The style of Kocatepe is supposed to be somewhat reminiscent of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, among others, and it really whet my appetite for a trip to the city. While Istanbul was not put on the program for our stay this time, we were given a free four day weekend around the beginning of July so I am planning on taking a little solo trip to finally get a chance to explore the big imperial capital. I haven't booked the trip yet but I will keep everyone updated on my progress on that front.