The proposed solutions for its restoration were approved unanimously by the Central Archaeological Council.
Launched the restoration of the Bayazit Mosque, in Didymoteicho. The restoration will be done in the models of its last phase, the beginning of the 20th century, with parallel highlighting of elements of previous phases, so that the structural history of the monument is readable, as well as the interventions that took place in different time periods.
The proposed solutions emerged after investigating the architecture, static, seismic behavior and adequacy of the monument and approved unanimously by the Central Archaeological Council.
The restoration follows the documentation and analysis of the monument in the context of the research project carried out by the National Technical University of Athens for restoration of the stone shell and reconstruction of its roof.
Rehabilitation proposals include the reconstruction of the monument maintaining the construction phase with the two balconies and the addition of the coronation cone, the reconstruction of the wooden roof and roof, the wooden Minbar and Mahfil, the preservation of the painted decoration, the deconstruction of the minaret until the coronation of the masonry with reuse of the material presents problems.
The Bayazit Mosque before the fire of 2017. Ministry of Culture
As stated by Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni: “The Bayazit Mosque, in the center of the city of Didymoteicho, is one of the most imposing monuments of the Ottoman Empire. Its protection and restoration has been a concern and priority of the Ministry of Culture and Sports for many years. The work of restoration of the monument was included in the RDP of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace – NSRF 2007-2013. However, the entire design was overturned due to the fire of 2017, which caused the collapse of the wooden roof and damage inside. The need to redesign interventions and demand new studies was obvious. In 2020, the competent Services of the Ministry of Culture commissioned the National Technical University of Athens to prepare a research program to capture the pathology of the monument and to propose solutions for the management of the problems in a study for the restoration of the stone part of the mosque and the reconstruction of the wooden of his roof. Following the unanimous opinion of the Central Archaeological Council, the Ministry of Culture is launching the procedures for the restoration of the mosque as soon as possible. As I have pointed out many times, the Ministry of Culture protects all the monuments of all periods that are within the Greek territory. “Our priorities are the restoration of the monument and its return as a place of culture to the local community as soon as possible.”
View of the mosque today. Ministry of Culture.
As part of the research project, budget 250,000 euros, funded by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, a geometric and architectural survey of the current condition of the monument and its minaret was carried out. The pathology was determined and the state of preservation of the masonry and the surviving wooden elements of the roof was determined, while the architectural, static, constructional and dynamic behavior of its stone elements was investigated and analyzed, with the wooden roof. After the loss of the roof, the biggest damages that occurred in the monument due to the fire were located in the minaret. From the very first stages of the study, all the necessary rescue measures were taken in order to ensure the stability of the monument.
The floor plan of the mosque. Ministry of Culture
During the elaboration of the research program, special emphasis was placed on the investigation of the pyramidal shape of the original wooden roof structure and the wooden roof suspended from it, with the aim of their morphological-typological representation and the assessment of the degree of damage caused to the masonry. The static and seismic behavior and adequacy of the monument, as well as the original structure of the roof and the roof were investigated and analyzed, and proposals and solutions were formulated for their reconstruction, as well as the restoration of all the structural and architectural elements of the monument.
