Mehmet Yoluç

“A mosque built by a businessman?” you might ask, standing before the Mehmet Yoluç Mosque. Indeed, this place of worship, the Mehmet Yoluç Mosque, intertwines the narrative of a family’s legacy with the complex tapestry of Istanbul’s urban development. Mehmet Yoluç, whose name graces this mosque, emerges not from the pages of religious history, but from a land dispute that shook Istanbul’s political and financial landscape. Yoluç, along with business partners Korkmaz Yiğit and Kemal Gülman, owned a vast 6 million square meter plot of land in Avcılar. This land became the epicenter of a protracted battle over development rights. The Mehmet Yoluç Mosque stands as a testament to this struggle. The story begins in 1995, when Korkmaz Yiğit, a rising business tycoon, envisioned transforming this expanse of land. He initiated plans for large-scale development. However, his ambitions were thwarted by the Türkbank scandal of 1997, leaving the project in limbo. Years later, the project resurfaced. Yiğit, now joined by Gülman, Yoluç, and his sisters, sought approval for residential development. They bypassed Istanbul’s local authorities. They appealed directly to the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement in 2004. The ministry granted approval, sparking a wave of controversy. The City Planners’ Chamber, along with Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, challenged the decision. They cited discrepancies with urban planning regulations and concerns about population density. Even the Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) distanced itself from the project. The ministry’s approval, purportedly based on a TOKİ proposal, was revealed to be fabricated. Amidst this turmoil, the ministry’s approval paved the way for the construction of 22,000 housing units. A new city within a city, with a projected population of 100,000, was about to be born. This development, fueled by high-stakes financial interests, left many questions unanswered. And the Mehmet Yoluç Mosque stands here, a silent witness to the complexities of this urban transformation.