Greece, Thessaloniki: Oldest Islamic Religious Centre to be Fully Restored

The Greek city times reported on the 9th of May that the Hamza Bey Mosque, also known as the Alkazar, located in the center of Thessaloniki, is expected to be fully restored by 2025.

The restoration project, which is part of the Ministry of Culture and Sports’ wider program for the restoration and promotion of the city’s history, will be financed with €10,511,984 from the Recovery Fund.

Built-in 1467/1468 by the daughter of the military commander Hamza Bey, the mosque is the oldest Islamic religious center in Thessaloniki.

It is known as Alkazar by Thessalonians due to the cinema of the same name that was housed for several years in the peristyle courtyard of the mosque.

The building has seen many interventions, resulting in significant changes in its morphology.

The Hamza Bey mosque was damaged in later earthquakes and fires and was rebuilt in 1620, with a medrassa added.

Following the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the mosque no longer functioned as a religious building and became the property of the National Bank of Greece.

The Minister of Culture and Sports, Lina Mendoni, said that the immediate restoration of the Hamza Bey Mosque was proceeding.

She added that the mosque was part of the program of restoration and promotion of the monumental inventory of Thessaloniki, of all historical periods.

Mendoni said that with the completion of the works, the mosque would be returned to the city, fully restored.