ABTTF President: “As ABTTF, we have, from the very beginning, drawn attention to the delays in the restoration of the mosque following the fire before the United Nations and the Council of Europe, and in 2022—five years after the 2017 fire—we called on our country to ensure that the restoration work, which had begun that year, be completed as soon as possible. Nine years later, we are finally reunited with our six-century-old mosque, one of the finest examples of our shared cultural heritage.”
Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni inspected the restoration work nearing completion at the historic Çelebi Sultan Mehmet (Beyazıt) Mosque in Didymoteicho during her visit to Western Thrace on 6 August 2026.
Accompanied by President of the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Christodoulos Topsidis, Minister Mendoni made some remarks during the visit, noting that the Çelebi Sultan Mehmet (Beyazıt) Mosque is a monument of tremendous importance to the architectural heritage of Southeast Europe. She noted that following the devastating fire in 2017, the Ministry of Culture undertook the restoration of the structure in 2019 and that the mosque will re-open to the residents of Didymoteicho and visitors very soon.
Located in the centre of Didymoteicho, the 600-year-old Çelebi Sultan Mehmet (Beyazıt) Mosque—one of the most important Turkish-Islamic monuments in the Balkans and Europe—is the first mosque built by the Ottoman Empire on the European continent. In the fire that broke out in 2017, the mosque’s unique wooden roof was completely destroyed, and a large portion of its interior was damaged.
“As emphasised by our country Greece’s Minister of Culture Mendoni, it is very encouraging news that the restoration work on the Sultan Çelebi Mehmet (Beyazıt) Mosque—one of Europe’s most significant cultural and architectural landmarks—is set to be completed soon. As ABTTF, we have, from the very beginning, drawn attention to the delays in the restoration of the mosque following the fire before the United Nations and the Council of Europe, and in 2022—five years after the 2017 fire—we called on our country to ensure that the restoration work, which had begun that year, be completed as soon as possible. Nine years later, we are finally reunited with our six-century-old mosque, one of the finest examples of our shared cultural heritage We hope that the dilapidated Turkish-Ottoman monuments across our country—particularly in our region of Western Thrace—will also be restored in accordance with their original designs as soon as possible to prevent their loss’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
*Image: www.anadoluimages.com
