The minaret of Sivas Ulu Mosque, likened to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, will be restored using a new method in Türkiye

The minaret of Sivas Ulu Mosque, built by Kızılarslan bin İbranim during the reign of Sultan 2. Kudbeddin Melikşah of the Anatolian Seljuk State in 1197, is compared to Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa.

It has a lean of 117 centimeters and is expected to stand for many years using a method that will be implemented for the first time in Türkiye. The minaret leans by 1.5 centimeters each year. Its maintenance project, monitored via satellite, is being carried out by the Sivas Regional Directorate of Foundations.

Under the supervision of Turkish and Italian scientists, 40-meter-long steel piles will be placed inside the minaret.

Sivas Regional Directorate of Foundations Manager Cemal Karaca stated, “The lean of the Ulu Mosque minaret is around 117 centimeters. This lean is referred to as ‘Plumb Line (Turkish: Şakül Doğrusu)’ in old terminology. When we look at the 130-year-old photographs, we see that the lean has continued in the same way. The minaret should not be left to its own devices. We separated the minaret from the mosque and designed a separate project, and we received support for this project from foreign scientists.”

Karaca emphasized that they are exercising maximum sensitivity to avoid damaging the inscriptions on the minaret. He stated, “We tried to learn what is written in the plastered section beneath the inscriptions we refer to as ‘biscuit.’ We identified the inscription at the top of the minaret, which means ‘The Kingdom belongs to Allah’ (El Mülk-ü Lillah). The tiles on the motifs are turquoise and blue, while the plate-shaped tiles are green. We have made requests for their completion. Our experts are applying a system that is rarely found in terms of the minaret’s stability. To prevent the minaret from toppling, holes will be drilled from the top with probes, and it will be reinforced with steel connections, each 40 meters long, that are not visible from the outside. The thickness of the inner walls of the minaret is about 80 centimeters. This is a place that stands with prayers, and it needs to be done as soon as possible. Our project and costs are ready. God willing, we will proceed with the restoration of our minaret with approval from Ankara.”