Turkey’s religious authority launches pilot project to assit disabled mosques visitors

A pilot project led by the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs will facilitate access to mosques for disabled people by offering religious content in a digital format and by installing charging facilities for electric scooters.

The pilot project will be implemented in eight provinces across the country. Electric scooter charging units will be installed in Ankara at the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki and Hacı Bayram mosques and in Istanbul in the Sultanahmet, Fatih and Ataşehir Mimar Sinan mosques.

The charging units will also be installed in Izmir's Konak mosque, the Emir Sultan and Ulu Cami mosques of Bursa, Kayseri's Hacı Mehmet Özkan mosque, at the Büyük Cami in Samsun, as well as in the Alabey mosque in Gaziantep and the Berat mosque in Diyarbakır. At each unit, it will be possible to charge up to three mobility scooters simultaneously.

The high-tech units to assist people with disabilities will also offer digital services. Citizens will be able to read the Quran on digital screens or listen to it and they will also have access to religious content like the meaning behind portions of the Quran, hadiths and Islamic law.

Additionally, stories and tales will be offered for children through the digital pilot program. Content will be presented both in sign language and acoustically. A navigation system will help disabled visitors to orient themselves to the surroundings and to more easily navigate the facilities.