Restoration process for Maraş Grand Mosque has begun

In Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the February 6 earthquakes, while heavily damaged buildings are being demolished and replaced with new ones, historical structures that sustained damage are also being restored.

One of the historical monuments in the city where restoration work is underway is the Maraş Grand Mosque, one of the city's landmarks.

The restoration of the historical mosque, which was built in the 15th century and sustained heavy damage in the earthquake, is being carried out by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

As part of the restoration work, the stones of the remaining part of the minaret, which partially collapsed in the earthquake, were dismantled and numbered by experts.

Adem Bozkurt, Gaziantep Regional Director of Foundations, who inspected the mosque where restoration work is continuing uninterrupted, stated that they conducted damage assessments on historical structures in 11 provinces immediately after the earthquake.

'GROUND DRILLING COMPLETED'

Stating that the historical Grand Mosque is also being restored, Bozkurt said, "The Grand Mosque is a work of ours built in the 15th century during the Dulkadiroğlu Principality period. The tender for this place was conducted quickly. We began our production by meticulously dismantling the stones of our minarets, which posed a danger, one by one, to determine what could be preserved and what could not. Subsequently, we performed laser scanning, which actually identifies all kinds of damage occurring in these structures, down to the finest hairline cracks.

Ground drilling was performed; we identified voids in the body walls using what we call georadar on the surface, ceiling, and floor. Later, a very serious static design study was carried out regarding these," he said.

News Source: 12punto