Turkey’s largest and most impressive mosque, located in the Asian quarter of Üsküdar in Istanbul, is the fruit of the Turkish government’s desire to bear witness to the country’s economic greatness. This new symbol, a building with modern connotations, houses not only the area dedicated exclusively to worship and prayer but also an art gallery, a library, a conference room, an art studio, and the Museum of Islamic Civilization, which contains artefacts from Turkish Islamic culture.

The mosque’s main dome stands 72 metres high to symbolise the 72 nationalities that live in Istanbul.The building can hold up to 37,500 people, while the main door is the largest opening of any place of worship in the world.

The Rio 2 diffuse-light recessed outdoor linear profiles featured are drive-over up to 5000 kg and have a customized construction enabling them to be mounted on a square outer casing. They have been installed in the large front courtyard, the esplanade and to the right of the mosque and mark out the wide paved surface in a strict geometric pattern.

The light emitted by the profiles brings the large area to life and interacts not only with the faithful but also with tourists and visitors. In fact, the squares of light have taken on an “interactive” function that was completely unexpected, as they create a sort of luminous podium perfect for selfies and photographs against the stunning background of the magnificent mosque. This ambitious lighting project has achieved its objective of creating a significant experience not only inside the space dedicated to silence and prayer but also outside.

A number of Siri projectors, with rounded angles and anti-glare recessed optics, have been used to light the trees in the garden to the left of the mosque, giving volume to the green foliage: a very moving effect, in perfect symbiosis with the atmosphere of the place.