Turkish Vice President Yilmaz to visit Cyprus
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz is to visit the north on Thursday to open Cyprus’ largest mosque, the Dr Suat Gunsel mosque on the northern outskirts of Nicosia.
The mosque is expected to be officially opened in the morning.
After opening the mosque, Yilmaz is set to visit the Gunsel electric car factory and the Nicosia Science Centre.
In the afternoon, he is set to pay a visit to the village of Acheritou, which is situated between Famagusta and Avgorou, and next to the Ayios Nikolaos British military station.
He will be joined in Cyprus by Turkish Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir. Kacir will also hold a meeting with the north’s ‘economy minister’ Olgun Amcaoglu.
The Dr Suat Gunsel mosque is the largest mosque in Cyprus, with a capacity of 10,000 worshippers.
It has six minarets and 62 domes. The highest minarets shoot 76.2 metres into the sky, and its main dome is 36.8 metres high.
Inside there are a total of 47 chandeliers and 104 stained glass windows, while the walls were oil painted.
The area of the complex is a gargantuan 30,000 square-metre complex, but the ownership of that land has already caused a storm which is set to land its owners, the Gunsel family, in court.
Ahmet Sanver is set to sue the Gunsel family, saying that part of the complex has been built on his land.
Specifically, he claims the mosque’s car park has been built on land belonging to him, and he said on Wednesday that he and his family did not give permission for anything to be constructed on the land they own.
“Our land has been occupied. We are referring the Gunsels first to God, and then to the courts,” he said.