Fire damages historic mosque on Istanbul's Bosporus Strait

The firefighters were trying to prevent the fire from reaching a forest behind the mosque and the neighboring houses that line the Bosporus. The mosque is a wooden structure with a single minaret. The cause of the fire was not yet determined.

A historic wooden mosque in Istanbul was on fire Sunday and Turkish firefighters were trying to put out the blaze from both land and sea. The Vanikoy Mosque, built in the 17th century during the reign of Ottoman Sultan IV Mehmed, is located on the Asian side of Istanbul along the Bosporus Strait.

Videos showed heavy smoke pouring from the structure. The firefighters were trying to prevent the fire from reaching a forest behind the mosque and the neighboring houses that line the Bosporus.

The mosque is a wooden structure with a single minaret. The cause of the fire was not yet determined.