Erdo?an opens palace mosque, highlights Quranic verse on 'patience'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has inaugurated a mosque on the grounds of the gargantuan new presidential palace in Ankara and opened it to the public, while highlighting a Quranic verse praising ?patience.?

?I am praying to God that the prayers recited in this mosque will be accepted by Him,? Erdo?an said while opening Be?tepe People?s Mosque on July 3.

AA photo
Above the 6.75-meter-high marble door of the mosque, Erdo?an added, the 24th verse of Quran?s Rad surah (chapter) ?welcomes? visitors.

?Peace be upon you for what you patiently endured. And excellent is the final home,? the verse reads in Arabic.

Hürriyet photo/Selahattin Sönmez
Erdo?an has been accused of squandering state resources by building the controversial 1,150-room presidential palace, and the mosque is ?an apparent effort to stave off more criticism over his state spending,? according to the Associated Press.

AA photo
The ruling party, founded by Erdo?an, lost its parliamentary majority in last month?s elections, a blow to Erdo?an?s ambitions to turn the largely ceremonial presidency into an executive post.

Opposition parties made the palace a theme of their election campaigns, forcing the president onto the defensive. There have even been accusations of gold-plated toilet seats, which Erdo?an vehemently denied.

AKP deputy Ertan Ayd?n shared this photo showing Erdo?an and Davuto?lu praying in the new mosque
The mosque inside the controversial presidential premises occupies 1,200 square meters and can host 3,000 worshippers. Its four 40-meter-high minarets are visible from many parts of the city, becoming one of the largest mosques in Ankara, alongside the Kocatepe Mosque and the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki...