Mosque architecture and new eclectic forms in Africa: Pedestals, Measures, Sensitivities
The mosque we built in an African country recently created a great satisfaction. It is obvious that being a mosque and being built in a country in need means a lot. There never seems to be a problem with its meaning and value in any way. However, the fact that the mosque was built with the architecture of an Istanbul mosque belonging to the Ottoman period is a subject to be discussed. Because every geography creates an architecture as the summary of its own culture, history and emotional story. Especially mosques are the most suitable places to express this kind of traditional form.
If possible, a mosque in an African country should have been built in accordance with the architectural character of that geography, considering the climate, materials and needs there. This situation should not change in architectural aids given as gifts. When the Ottoman mosques were examined carefully, they tended to maintain the architectural character of the region. The static contributions to be made in terms of the mathematics and technology of the architecture are localized without being felt within the architectural form. Today, aid and development support, even if it is a mosque, must be done without harming the locality.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO VALUE WHAT IS LOCAL
A quest for a transitional architecture or an eclectic architecture can be if the addressee deems it appropriate. Otherwise, if not today, such a structure may be considered as an intervention or an imperialist effort tomorrow. An architecture with high windows and sunlight into the mosque would be functionally useless in a region living under heavy desert temperatures on the equator line.
Diplomacy and public diplomacy require wit, high politics and a deep view. It is the grace and sophisticated, sophisticated gaze of our ancestors who separated us from the imperialist countries and put a love and affection in people's hearts that lasted for hundreds of years. Locality must be taken into account in the architectural practices carried out by our NGOs or our state abroad, and the fact that an architecture brought from Turkey will be a matter of discussion in the long run besides its function problems. Our biggest reference in this regard is Ottoman practices. Never should one fall back from this level of mind and representation. A sophisticated depth should be sought in the representations and practices of our NGOs in the field, and a common understanding of the way of representation abroad should not be acted upon with a sense of boundlessness abroad. An infinity, where the giver of money can do whatever he wants, consumes the present and the future as it consumes the past.
TURKISH MOSQUE IN ETHIOPIA MUST BE THE PRODUCT OF A COMMON FORM
It has recently been announced to the public that a Turkish mosque will be built in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, with the great request of the Ethiopian mashhad. This news, which is the result of a long effort, is very pleasing. The events that resulted in the death of hundreds of Muslims in Wollo, Dessi and Gondar, which have been battered by internal conflicts in recent days, upset Ethiopian Muslims. The news of this mosque today is really a great morale booster for Ethiopian Muslims. This mosque has great meanings for the people of both countries. Abyssinia has a very important value and meaning in Ottoman-African relations. Harar, the most exceptional model of our diplomatic and cultural representation; It is like a living scene of the history of Ottoman-Abyssinia with its strong and deep structure to make a historical demonstration. This island of history, where the representation of the world, which I have explained at length above, is located in all its dimensions, is full of the exceptional stories and products of the wisest past. I hope that our organizations, which have been meticulous in the restoration works carried out by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in and around the tomb of King Negus, will put forward a multi-dimensional architectural preparatory work in the mosque to be built in Addis Ababa. Dozens of professional architects, engineers, city planners, interior architects, historians and sociologists who graduated from our country can reach a very functional and unique transitional architecture as people who are familiar with the characteristics of two cultures.
WE CANNOT USE THE COLONIAL LANGUAGE
The architectural model that will emerge with the joint efforts of Turkish and Ethiopian architects will be the epitome of the brotherhood of the two communities, with reasonable Turkish touches as well as the character of Ethiopian culture. The most important point here is that an Istanbul type mosque architecture that will cause an imperial effect is not placed in the middle of Addis Ababa. The aid made by countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE may not protect local architecture in mosques, and imperialism may be forced to the end by devaluing local architecture in the churches of the West. But we can never come up with an imperialist effective architectural form. The language we will use in this geography that has never been colonized will be accepted as a measure in other African countries. Global and local structures and their treacherous collaborators who are disturbed by Turkey's presence in Ethiopia are seizing every opportunity to abuse Turkey in Africa. A functional mosque in Addis Ababa has very strategic implications. The fact that this architecture, which cannot be built with its own resources, is a function and a wonder of art, and being a model complex that corresponds to many services with its multiple features, will provide a great gain. A multidisciplinary study must be done in the architectural maturation process. It is my greatest desire that this article I wrote creates a transformation and a sophisticated focus for our government institutions and NGOs.