TIRANA/SKOPJE
Turkey's main aid agency has been restoring many Ottoman era mosques in the Balkan states.
Indeed, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, or TIKA, has restored five mosques in Albania, and work continues in three others.
The Turkish agency has undertaken similar projects in Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.
The coordinator for TIKA in Tirana, Albania, Birol Cetin said that the Turkish agency has signed a cooperation agreement with the Albanian Ministry of Culture in 2010.
“In this regard we started the work for restoring the Ottoman era monuments, which express our common historical heritage,” Cetin said, adding that the restoration of the five Albanian mosques had been completed in 2014.
“This year, we will continue working on restoring three others,” Cetin said,
The agency will complete the restoration of the Lead Mosque, built in the 18th century, in Shkoder in northwestern Albania.
Macedonia
TIKA officials said that the agency has also finished the restoration of five mosques in Macedonia.
The restoration work continues in the “history and culture paradise” city of Macedonia, Manastir (Bitola), where TIKA is restoring the Ishak Celebi Mosque, a mosque built in the 16th century.
Restoration will end within the year and the mosque will be opened to worshippers.
The Macedonian State Minister Furkan Cako, during a visit to examine the restoration of the mosque, thanked TIKA and the Turkish government for the help offered in the preserving the country’s historical heritage.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Turkish agency continues its restoration work on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Mosque in Bosnia, a mosque built in the 15th century by the first governor of Bosnia, Isa Bey Ishakovic.
The Ottoman Empire ruled the Balkan region from 14th-15th centuries to the 20th century.
TIKA, established in 1992, operates in 120 countries. It has completed many projects and activities in the fields of education, health, restoration, agricultural development, finance, tourism, and industry on five continents.
