Moscow Central Mosque to be opened on eve of Eid

ANKARA

Moscow’s Central Mosque will reopen on the eve of Eid al Adha, it was announced Wednesday, when Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be among the guests.

The mosque - also known as Moscow Cathedral Mosque and Moscow Jum'ah Mosque - was demolished four years ago and has been rebuilt to house 10,000 worshippers.

The reopening on Sept. 23 will see a new complex 20 times larger than its predecessor at 19,000 square meters (204,500 square feet).

The Turkish Diyanet Foundation, an agency of Turkey’s religious affairs directorate, helped with the mosque’s interior design.

The ceremony will be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders.