Events

MINSK, 11 November (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are attending the ceremony to open the Cathedral Mosque in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

Attending the ceremony are representatives of the state administration, heads and representatives of religious and cultural public associations, embassies, foreign guests and believers.

The official opening ceremony started with the reading of the Koran. The two heads of state are expected to be shown around the religious place of worship.

The construction of the Cathedral Mosque, which is situated at the intersection of Griboyedov Street and Ignatenko Street, was launched in February 2004 and completed in June 2016.

At the start the construction was financed by the Muslim World League. The project was completed with the financial assistance of Turkey in accordance with the agreement concluded in 2015 between the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs and a Turkish company that acted as a general contractor.

The prayer hall of the mosque can accommodate more than 1,500 people. A hall underneath is designed to host press conferences, educational programs: lectures, educational films. The seating capacity of the hall is 250 people.

On the ground floor of the mosque there are premises for ablutions for women and men, administrative offices, a library, facilities for meetings and classes.