An earthquake of 6.8 magnitude shook the ground on Jan. 24, 2020, in Malatya, damaging Battalgazi Great Mosque and consequently leading to its closure to worship. The 800-year-old mosque is now amid restoration and strengthening efforts are underway for its reopening to the public.
Built in 1224 in the Battalgazi district during the reign of Seljuk ruler Aladdin Kayqubad I, the mosque is the only surviving example of the architectural tradition of the Great Seljuk mosque building in Anatolia. It is made of brick and stone and contains worship areas for summer and winter.
The work on the mosque started on March 5 after the approval of the project.
Fifty arches were secured in place in order to prevent further damage and partial collapses that aftershocks following the earthquake may cause.
The removal of the wooden roof, lead smelting, injection on the body walls and grouting rebuttals were completed in the mosque.
Brick production, insulation and lead metal fabrication in the main dome as well as the construction of buttresses are still underway.
The work carried out by the Malatya Regional Directorate of Foundations is scheduled to be completed in May 2022.
