ISTANBUL (AA): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday inauguratedthe largest mosque of Turkey for worship in Istanbul.

The opening of Camlica Mosque after a six-year construction periodcoincides with the holy month of Ramadan starting on next monday.

The 63,000-capacity mosque on Istanbul’s Camlica Hill in the Asian side ofthe city opened by Erdogan with Friday prayer.

Built in the Ottoman-Seljuk style of architecture, the mosque can be easilyviewed from every corner of the city.

It is not only a mosque but also a complex, which includes a museum ofTurkish Islamic art, a library, an art gallery, a conference hall,workshops as well as a car park with a 3,500-car capacity.

It has six minarets representing the six beliefs of Islam. Four minaretsare 107.1 meters tall, a tribute to the 1071 Manzikert victory of theSeljuk Turks against the Byzantine army that opened up Anatolia for Turkishdomination.

Its 72-meter high main dome represents 72 nations living in the city. Thesecond dome with a diameter of 34 meters represents the car license numberplate of Istanbul.

There are 16 names of Allah inscribed inside the dome, symbolizing thenumber of states founded by Turks.

A three-piece finial on the main dome, weighing 4.5 tons and at a height of7.77 meters is the largest of its kind.

A 17,000-square-meter carpet rolled out at the mosque is a speciallydesigned hand-knotted carpet. The minbar of the mosque, a pulpit from whichsermons of Friday and religious festivals are delivered, is 21-meter highand can be lifted through an elevator.

The mosque can host eight funeral prayers at a time.