Havana, February 12 (RHC) –- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proposed the construction of a mosque in Cuba during his visit yesterday to Havana.

After talks with Cuban President Raul Castro, Erdogan said on Wednesday he had sought approval for Turkey to build the place of worship in Havana that would be based on the model of a mosque in the Ortakoy district on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul.

"I presented all the information, project work and visuals regarding the Ortakoy mosque. 'We will do this ourselves. We don't want a partner. If you find it appropriate, we want to do this'," Erdogan's presidential website quoted him as saying of his talks with Raul Castro.

Erdogan also told reporters the Cuban government had agreed with Saudi Arabia on a similar project some time ago. In light of this, he said that his planned mosque could be built elsewhere on the island.

In Cuba, most of its theist inhabitants are adherents of the Roman Catholic Church and of a syncretic religion called Santería, that blends the Christian and Yoruba rites. It has been reported that some four thousand Muslims reside in Cuba, mostly in Havana.