List of former mosques in Greece

This is a list of former mosques in Greece. It lists former mosques (Arabic: مَسْجِد‎, romanized: masjid, Greek: Τζαμί, romanized: tzamí, Turkish: Camii) and places of worship for Muslims in Greece. It lists some but by no means all of the old historical mosques of Greece. The term former mosque in this list includes any Muslim mosque (building) or site used for Islamic Prayer (Salah) in Greece but is not so any longer. For currently open, functioning mosques in Greece see List of mosques in Greece.

Mosques have existed within the borders of modern Greece since the era of Emirate of Crete (824-961). But no mosques of the Emirate remain as they were torn down and remaining Muslims either killed, enslaved or converted to Christianity after the Byzantine reconquest of Crete (961).[1][2] Therefore currently the oldest mosque in Greece and the entire Balkan peninsula is believed to be the Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Mosque, the first in Didymoteicho (Western Thrace) built between 1389-1402.[3]

Most of the listed former mosques date from the late 14th century to the early 20th century, when various parts of modern Greece was at some point a part of the Ottoman Empire.[3]

Many Ottoman mosques and the other Muslim monuments, especially in southern Greece, were either destroyed during the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s and successive wars and conflicts. During periods of nationalist uprising and wars against the Ottoman and later the Turkish army, the newly independent Greek nation showed little respect for the monuments of a faith identified with the enemy.[3] A number of Ottoman mosques were confiscated and repurposed for use as government offices, churches, and other civilian purposes.

Many more mosques in Greece were closed or abandoned due to the 1923 Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. As a result, 355,000 to 400,000 Muslims left Greece,[4] most of them forcibly made to leave their lands, livelihoods, and mosques.

Many former mosques and other religious buildings also survived in the provinces of Macedonia, Thrace, Crete, and the islands of the Dodecanese which were integrated into the Greek State in the early 20th century. By then there was already a law for the protection of religious buildings of all faiths.[3]

The surviving former mosques or other religious structures are nowadays protected as monuments.[3] A number of them are still used as government buildings and churches, while many others have been restored and used as museums, exhibition, and concerts centers and as tourist attractions.[3]

List of former mosques in Attica

List of former mosques in Attica administrative region in Central Greece that encompasses the entire metropolitan area of Athens.

Current Name Mosque Name Images City Year Opened Year Closed Notes Ref.
Fethiye Mosque Museum Fethiye Mosque (English:Mosque of the Conquest, Greek: Φετιχιέ τζαμί, Turkish: Fethiye Camii), Wheat Market Mosque Athens 15th Century 1830 One of the most important monuments from Ottoman Greece period still existing in Athens. Reportedly mosque first opened in 15th century on ruins of a Byzantine Christian basilica. Current mosque built in 1668-1670. Mosque was repurposed after 1834 Greek independence and fell into disrepair. Renovated and open to public for cultural exhibitions since 2017. ,[5][6]
Annexe of Museum of Greek Folk Art Tzistarakis Mosque (Turkish: Cizderiye Camii), 'Mosque of the Lower Fountain’ Athens 1759 1830 Mosque built by Mustafa Agha Tzisdarakis, the Ottoman governor or commander of Athens Fortress in the heart of town market in Monastiraki Square. After Greece's independence in 1830, mosque was used for various purposes. The state restored it in 1918 and using it as a museum. ,[5][6]
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

List of former mosques in Central Macedonia

List of former mosques in Central Macedonia administrative region.

Current Name Mosque Name Images City Year Opened Year Closed Notes Ref.
Mehmet Bey Mosque (Greek: Τέμενος Μεχμέτ Μπέη) Serres 1492-1493 Built by Mehmed Bey, son of the grand vizier Gedik Ahmed Pasha in 1492-1493. The mosque and mausoleum of İsmail Bey was left abandoned after the Greek-Turkish population exchange. [7]
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

List of former mosques in Western Greece

List of former mosques in Western Greece administrative region.

Current Name Mosque Name Images City Year Opened Year Closed Notes Ref.
Fethiye Mosque (Nafpaktos) Nafpaktos 1499 Situated on the waterfront near the eastern side of the port. Built by Ottoman Sultan Beyazid II shortly after the capture of Nafpaktos from the Venetians. Open only for occasional temporary exhibitions. [8]
Vouleftikon (English:Parliament) Aga Pasha Mosque Nafplio 1730 Mosque built as a gray stone building off the Nafplion Syntagma Square. After Greek take over, it housed the first Greek People's Assembly, which met here for the first time in 1825 and later even as a prison. It's now fully restored but open to the public only for concerts in the former main hall of the mosque. Connected to the mosque in the back is the Medrese (English: Madrasa) building which used to be a Turkish Islamic religious school. [9]
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

List of former mosques in Crete

List of former mosques in Crete, the largest and most populous of the Greek islands.

Current Name Mosque Name Images City Year Opened Year Closed Notes Ref.
Kucuk Hasan Pasha Mosque English: Mosque of the Janissaries, Greek: Gialisi Tzami, Turkish: Küçük Hasan Pasha Camii Chania 1645 Best preserved former mosque in Chania city. Built by Ottomans honoring Kucuk Hasan Pasha. Presumed to be built on a preexisting Christian temple. The mosque has a large semispherical dome supported by stone arches. The north and west sides house a gallery that is crowned by six small domes. The gallery used to be open, as used in the mosques but was enclosed with arched openings in the late 19th century. [10]
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

List of former mosques in the Aegean Islands

List of former mosques located in the Aegean Islands, the group of islands in the Aegean Sea between mainland Greece and Turkey.

Current Name Mosque Name Images City Year Opened Year Closed Notes Ref.
Lesvos Valide Mosque (Greek: Βαλιντέ Τζαμί) Mytilene 1615 Located in Epano Skala which was a predominantly Turkish section within the port city of Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos Island. The mosque is a stone-built, one-story building with a marble staircase. Features a stone-paved front yard with a fountain embellished with engraved arabesques. The interior roof of the mosque used to be colorfully painted but the roof was painted brown after the Turks left the city. [11]
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

List of former mosques in Epirus

List of former mosques in Epirus (region) in northwestern Greece.

Current Name Mosque Name Images City Year Opened Year Closed Notes Ref.
Aslan Pasha Mosque - Municipal Museum Aslan Pasha Mosque, Greek: τζαμί Ασλάν Πασά) Ioannina 1618 The core of a large Islamic religious-educational complex. Only the mosque, Mendreses (Seminary), Homonym Tourbes (mausoleum), and Mageiria (hearth and home) survive today. Mosque interior is preserved with beautiful Minbar (pulpit) and Mihrab (prayer niche). The museum collection includes artifacts from the era of Ali Pasha, bronze objects, and Islamic books. [12]
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

List of former mosques in Thessaly

List of former mosques in Thessaly administrative region near central Greece. The region was under the Ottoman controls for four and a half centuries, until 1881. As such many former mosques still remain intact.

Current Name Mosque Name Images City Year Opened Year Closed Notes Ref.
Osman Shah MosqueTrikala1550sThe mosque is no longer used for worship; it now functions as a venue for minor events and is a protected UNESCO site.
Yeni MosqueLarissa1902It was used to house the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki in 1925. Today it serves as an exhibition center.
Alaca Imaret MosqueThessaloniki1484 or 1487Today the building is being used for temporary exhibitions, artistic and cultural events.[13]
Hamza Bey MosqueThessaloniki15th centurySince 1923, the minaret was removed and the building no longer functioned as a mosque. It was taken over by the Greek Ministry of Culture in 2006.
Muharrem Pasha MosqueElassona17th/18th centuryFor some time, the building was used to store parts of the Elassona archaeological collection.

See also

References
  1. Canard (1971), pp. 1084–1085
  2. Kazhdan (1991), p. 96
  3. "Old and new mosques in Greece:a new debate haunted by history". academia.edu. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  4. Giuseppe Motta (2013). Less than Nations: Central-Eastern European Minorities after WWI. 1. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 365. ISBN 9781443854610.
  5. "Restored Fethiye Mosque opens to visitors in Athens". lonelyplanet.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  6. "Historic Ottoman mosques cast light on Greek capital Athens". dailysabah.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  7. "Mehmed Bey Mosque". ottoman.mfa.gov.tr. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  8. "Fethiye Mosque (Nafpaktos)". lonelyplanet.com. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  9. "A parliament, a recidence and a mosque". visitnafplio.com. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  10. "About Kucuk Hasan Pasha Mosque". hellotravel.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  11. "Lesvos Valide Mosque". greeka.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  12. "Aslan Pasha Mosque - Municipal Museum". travelioannina.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  13. Page 196, Memory and Architecture, Eleni Bastéa,(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2004).

Sources
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