While 70 percent of the mosques in Turkey are in Kocaeli, only the schools in the Gebze district of Kocaeli outnumber the mosques in the district. In Gebze, which has a population of 422,000, there are 108 schools as opposed to 104 mosques.
The mosques in villages are the reason for the unbalance in the mosque-school ratio. Out of 838 mosques in Kocaeli, 612 are in the villages. In Kandira, there are 186 mosques, eight of which are in the district center, as opposed to 26 schools.
Only 15 or 20 people attend the morning and evening prayers at the Fevziye, Yeni Cuma, Erenler and Zincirlikuyu mosques in central Izmit. During Friday prayers however, people have to pray in the mosque's garden due to the overcrowding inside.
According to a research by the Department of Religious Affairs, more money is invested in building mosques in Turkey than in building schools. The research indicates that 1,424 out of 76,494 mosques are used in certain seasons, while 2,919 are used only during the month of Ramadan.
1,494 mosques are not currently in service. There are no staff in 4,830 mosques, the research said. (NK/EA/NM)
