25.01.2026 19:04
Twenty-five years ago in Denizli, a portion of the land donated by the locals for the construction of a mosque was put up for sale, citing the execution debt of one of the donors as the reason. The decision to sell, which includes the mosque courtyard where the drinking water for the neighborhood is sourced from a well, has caused a backlash in the community.
The old mosque located in the Gölcük neighborhood of the Çardak district in Denizli was demolished due to damage. The villagers came together in 2000 under the leadership of the then-mukhtar Osman Yüncü to build a new mosque in the village.
BUILT WITH DONATIONS, SOLD WITH DEBT
26 years ago, 12 donors voluntarily donated their lands to contribute to the construction of the village's new mosque. With the support of the donors, the construction of the only mosque in the neighborhood was completed in a short time and opened for worship. However, after 25 years, it was revealed that one of the donors had put the land up for sale due to personal debt.
"WHEN ONE OF THE 12 SHAREHOLDERS BECAME SUBJECT TO EXECUTION, THE LAND WAS PUT UP FOR SALE"
Osman Yüncü, one of the villagers who wanted to save the only mosque in the neighborhood, stated, "Until 2000, we had a damaged mosque here. With the villagers' initiatives, we demolished this damaged mosque and built a new one. With the contributions of the villagers, we started the construction of this mosque in 2001. However, the land of this mosque we built was a shared land among 12 people. We received verbal consent from the 12 shareholders and built this mosque on the land. Later, due to one of these 12 shareholders becoming subject to execution, a part of the mosque, which is mostly used as a garden, was put up for sale. We already have one mosque in the village. We also have a village guesthouse. We do not have any land belonging to the treasury or any other building in the village," he expressed.
THE DRILLING WELL FOR DRINKING WATER IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS ALSO LOCATED IN THE MOSQUE COURTYARD
Yüncü continued his remarks as follows: "We do not want our mosque to be sold. We want the relevant authorities to help us save our mosque, which is up for sale due to execution. Additionally, there is a drilling well for drinking water on that land. Citizens meet their water needs from this drilling. They do not drink water from the network. Since the drilling water used for drinking in the neighborhood is also on this land, it is at risk as well."