Turkish president to inaugurate mosque at Taksim Square
[AP]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be inaugurating a mosque with a capacity of more than 2,200 people on central Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Friday, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
The event will take place after Friday prayers, AA said in a post on Twitter, adding a video of the new mosque, which is in close proximity to the Orthodox Church of Hagia Triada and also to the Ataturk Monument.
The monument’s presence has made the square a symbol of secular Turkey and a key site for anti-government protests, including the Gezi Park demonstration that took place on this day in 2013, leading to violent clashes between police and protesters.
It was also the site of clashes earlier this month, during a May Day rally.
