This is a list of former mosques in Greece. It lists former mosques (Arabic: مَسْجِد, romanized: masjid, Greek: τζαμί, romanized: tzamí, Turkish: cami) 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 Muslimmosque (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 and 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] Beyond the new mosques built during Ottoman period, several Christian churches throughout Greece were also converted to mosques over time upon conquest, like the church of Hagios Demetrios in Thessalonica.[4] Those were gradually converted back to churches following Greece's independence and annexation of other regions.
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,[5] 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]
After the Greek War of Independence in 1821 it was converted into a barracks, and later it was declared a historical monument. Today it houses part of the medieval archaeological collection of Chalcis.
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.
After the city was conquered in 1460, Omer Bey had a mosque erected in the bazaar district. Since 2015, the mosque belongs to the municipality of Livadeia, which intends to carry out a restoration project and create a cultural place.
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.
After the destruction of the Parthenon, which was already used as a mosque, in 1687, a smaller, free-standing mosque was erected inside the ruined shell of the temple. It was itself demolished in 1843, over a decade after Greece had achieved independence.
It was the very last mosque to be opened in Thessaloniki in 1903, less than a decade before the Ottomans lost the city to the Kingdom of Greece in 1912 during the Balkan Wars. It was then used by the Greek army for almost a century. Restoration works began in 2011.
After the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1430, the Ottomans converted the church of Saint Paul into the Mosque of Musa Çelebi. That building was torn down, and its material was used for the current structure, erected on the same site. It is Veria's best-preserved mosque, but it is not open for worship today.
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 and ceased to function as a mosque sometime in the late 19th century due to flooding from the nearby river. Neglected and unused today.
Orta Mosque, or "middle mosque" was built in the centre of the town. The mosque was declared a preserved monument in 1938, but has variously been used as a house, a musical instruments workshop and a stonemason's workshop.. Now it lies abandoned in ruins, with plant life growing all over it.
The mosque was mentioned by Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi, and it is Edessa's sole surviving mosque. The mosque was made into a museum in 1942, and it is open to visitors today.
Yeni Mosque was built by Italian architect Vitaliano Poselli in 1902. After the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, it was used to house the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki in 1925. Today it serves as an exhibition center.
The architecture and layout of the building are typical of the late 16th century, following the school of Mimar Sinan. The mosque underwent restoration works in 2000, but it is not open for worship.
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.
Built shortly after the conquest of Rethymno by the Ottomans, it was named in honour of the then valide-sultan (the sultan's mother). Not accessible to the public.
Built very shortly after the fall of Rethymno to the Ottomans, it was heavily damaged during World War II and subsequently restored. Today it houses the Paleontological Museum of Rethymno.
The original building was a converted church which was destroyed. The current building was erected as a mosque in 1869, and converted into a church in 1925.
It was left neglected and abandoned for close one hundred years, during which time it was entirely engulfed by other buildings, before restoration works began in 2021.
The mosque is considered by Greek government officials one of the most important Muslim monuments in Greece, as it is the oldest mosque on Greek soil, and perhaps the oldest in the Balkans as well. It no longer functions as a mosque, but it is under extensive restoration work.
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.
It was probably erected on the site of a previous Byzantine church. After Arta's annexation in 1881, it briefly functioned as a church dedicated to Saint John the Russian. It was declared a preserved monument in 1938 and now is under repair works. It is not open for worship.
The original mosque was built in 1430, on the site of a church. It was extensively remodelled in 1795 by Ali Pasha of Ioannina, who made it the main mosque of his palace. The graves of Ali's family and of Ali himself are located before the mosque.
One of the two surviving mosques in Arta, it was named after its founder, Feyzullah. Although it was declared a preserved archaeological site, it mostly lies in ruins, abandoned and neglected.
It was built on the site of an earlier mosque. After Ioannina's annexation by Greece in 1913, it was closed as a mosque and used for a plethora of other purposes. It is currently undergoing renovation works.
Built on one of the most prominent locations of Arta, Sultan Mehmed Mosque no longer survives as it was destroyed shortly after Arta's liberation in 1881, one of the six mosques in Arta that were demolished.
Originally built by Veli Pasha of Ioannina on the site of a Byzantine church dedicated to Saint Stephen. Shortly after Greece's annexation of Ioannina in 1913, it was converted into a barracks. Today it houses the National Defense Museum of Ioannina
Built some years after the island's conquest, and quite possibly the oldest Ottoman monument in Kos. Was damaged badly during a 1933 earthquake and finally demolished two years later. Today only its minaret remains.
Built by order of Sultan Abdul Hamit II, as was the Osmaniye Mosque. It housed some refugee families after the population exchange. Used as a repair shop for electronics, it was renovated in 2018–2023.
The mosque served the Turkish community of the island of Chios before they were forced to leave during the population exchange. During the years 2006 to 2010 the museum underwent repair work, so it remained closed. The museum houses Christian and Byzantine sculptures in its yard, as well as exhibits from the Genoese and Ottoman periods.
Originally built on the site of a Christian church, since 2007 it houses the Historical Collection of Kastellorizo, encompassing of several photographic and document material.
Located next to the legendary Tree of Hippocrates. Not to be confused with the similarly named Gazi Hasan Pasha Mosque which is also in Kos, and unlike this one, still open for worship.
The mosque was officially registered by Greek Ministry of Culture as a cultural landmark on January 21, 1983. In 1997, the mosque was repaired and renovated by the Greek government and made available for hosting exhibitions and various cultural events.
Located in Epano Skala which was a predominantly Turkish section within the port city of Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos 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.
Located in Epano Skala like Valide Mosque, which was a predominantly Turkish section within the port city of Mytilene, the capital of Lesbos Island. After the population exchange, the Turkish community of Lesbos departed. The mosque was restored in 2011.
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.
The mosque is situated in the centre of the city. It means "mosque of the flag-bearer", apparently derived from the fact that its imam used to hoist a flag (bayrak) to give the signal for the other mosques to begin the call the faithful to prayer.
The mosque is no longer used for worship; it now functions as a venue for minor events and is a protected UNESCO site. It is the only work of Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan that lies in modern Greece.
Its exact date of construction, as well as its founder, are unknown, but the neoclassical decoration both on the exterior as well as in the interior point to sometime in the 19th century. It was the last of several mosques built in the city under Ottoman rule, whence its name. From the late 1950s until 2011 the building housed the Larissa Archaeological Museum.
It was built by Sultan Ahmed III upon the recapture of Morea, hence the name. Although renovation works have taken place, it is mostly in a very poor condition.
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.
The mosque was built shortly after the Ottoman conquest of the Morea in the sixteenth century. Shortly after the Greek War of Independence in 1821 it was used as a prison, and later as a cafe. Today it functions as a museum and houses the Archaeological Collection of Monemvasia.
It is a gray, stone building in the Syntagma Square. During the Greek War of Independence it was used as a school for orphaned children and it was used so for more than half a century. Today it functions as a cinema and an exhibitions hall.
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.
It served the Muslim community for centuries before Kastoria was annexed by Greece. The first library of Kastoria was housed inside the mosque for some years starting in 1925, then it became a warehouse of antiquities for many decades until recently. It is the only mosque of Kastoria that was not demolished, as all the others were.
Originally dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God, it was renamed to Hagia Sophia ("holy wisdom") by Greek refugees from Turkey arriving in Drama following the population exchange.
Before being converted to a mosque, it had functioned as the church of Panagia Atheniotissa. After its destruction in 1687, a smaller mosque was erected within the ruined shell. Now an archaeological site, part of the Acropolis of AthensUNESCOWorld Heritage Site.
Originally a Roman Catholic church built during the Venetian rule of the island, it was converted into a mosque upon Ottoman conquest. In 1960 it opened again, but as an art gallery, instead of a church.
^Ephorate of Antiquities of Euboea (March 11, 2020). "Το Τζαμί Γαζί Ομέρ Μπέη" [Gazi Omer Bey Mosque]. dimoslevadeon.gr (in Greek). Retrieved November 25, 2022.
^Ousterhout, Robert (2005). ""Bestride the Very Peak of Heaven": The Parthenon after Antiquity". In Neils, J. (ed.). The Parthenon: From Antiquity to the Present. Cambridge. pp. 322–323.
^Page 196, Memory and Architecture, Eleni Bastéa,(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2004).
^Marge, Anastasia I.; Matskani, Anna S. (2007). "Η οθωμανική αρχιτεκτονική στην πόλη της Βέροιας" [The Ottoman architecture in the city of Veroia]. Αρχαιολογία και Τέχνες (in Greek) (105): 74. ISSN1108-2402.
^Marge, Anastasia I.; Matskani, Anna S. (2007). "Η οθωμανική αρχιτεκτονική στην πόλη της Βέροιας" [The Ottoman architecture in the city of Veroia]. Αρχαιολογία και Τέχνες (in Greek) (105): 72–73. ISSN1108-2402.
^"Τζαμί Ιεράπετρας" [Mosque of Ierapetra]. ierapetra.gr (in Greek). Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^"Τζαμί Νερατζές". www.rethymno.gr. Δήμος Ρεθύμνης. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
^ abKolovos, Elias (December 4, 2008). Τα οθωμανικά μνημεία του Ρεθύμνου [The Ottoman monuments of Rethymnon] (in Greek). Retrieved September 11, 2020.
^Λωλίδης Βασίλης (17 August 2017). "Ανακαλύπτοντας την ιστορία της Καβάλας" [Discovering the History of Kavala]. amna.gr (in Greek). ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
^"Mosques in Western Thrace". Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 2009-07-10. p. 8. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
^European Federation of Western Thrace Turks. "Ιστορικά και Αρχιτεκτονικά Μνημεία" [Historical and Architectural Monuments]. abttf.org (in Greek). Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^ abXenopoulos, Serapheim (1884). Δοκίμιον ιστορικής τινος περιλήψεως τής ποτε αρχαίας και εγκρίτου Ηπειρωτικής πόλεως Άρτης και της ωσαύτως νεωτέρας πόλεως Πρεβέζης / Συλλεγέν και συνταχθέν υπό του μητροπολίτου Άρτης Σεραφείμ του Βυζαντίου [A historical essay summarizing the once ancient and prominent Epirotan town of Arta and also the newer town of Preveza / Collected and compiled by the Metropolitan of Arta Serapheim of Byzantium]. Athens.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Ministry of Culture and Sports. "Το τζαμί του Βελή πασά" [Mosque of Veli Pasha]. www.odysseus.culture.gr (in Greek). Retrieved March 14, 2022.
^"Eski Mosque". discoveringkos.com. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
^Vrouchos, George (November 23, 2006). "Το νεκροταφείο και το Τζαμί Μουράτ Ρεϊς" [The Murat Reis Mosque and graveyard]. rodiaki.gr (in Greek). Retrieved October 22, 2023.
^Louloudaki, Rhodoula (November 26, 2018). "Τα τζαμιά της Ρόδου!" [The mosques of Rhodes!]. rodiaki.gr (in Greek). Retrieved October 28, 2023.
^"Μπαϊρακλί Τζαμί". Municipality of Larissa Cultural Portal (in Greek). Municipality of Larissa. 17 November 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
^"Γενί Τζαμί". Municipality of Larissa Cultural Portal (in Greek). Municipality of Larissa. Retrieved 22 November 2018.