paulinette
Mosque and a Turkish Islamic cultural center
Suleymaniye is a big Mosque and Turkish Islamic cultural center in Tottenham, not far from the City of London. In the UK there's great cultural tolerance since the days of the British Empire, it has always had freedom of worship, religion and political opinion. But still it surprised me to be in a neighborhood with low red brick houses and to suddenly find a large arrow minaret! The construction of Suleymaniye, which bears the same name as the Great Mosque of Istanbul, began in 1995 and it opened in 1999. It's 8,000 square meters divided between the mosque and cultural center, the mosque can hold 3,000 worshipers.
It's so far the largest Islamic complex in Europe and in general mosques are somewhat hidden and very discreet, this one is seen from afar. The architecture combines Eastern and Western styles and the interior is decorated with traditional Turkish calligraphy. The cultural center includes classrooms and reception halls for weddings.
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