“By the end of 2026, all the scaffolding will be gone from the “Alcazar” and the building will be ready to be rendered as a very important monument to be used in mild cultural actions”, he said speaking on the radio of APE-MPE “Agency 104.9 FM”, the head of antiquities of Pella and deputy head of the Antiquities Tax Office of the City of Thessaloniki, Betina Tsigarida.

Older people remember “Alcazar” as a cinema. It is located in Egnatia, almost at the confluence with Venizelou. Ottoman building. It is the oldest mosque in Thessaloniki. As a monument, it suffered a lot of wear and tear. In the early 2000s it joined a European program to secure funding and repair the damage. Since then, scaffolding covers the monument and those who do not know the city find it difficult to recognize it.

The “Alcazar”is located in front of the old town hall of Thessaloniki, the Caravan Sarai, which was a place of accommodation for travelers and pilgrims during the Ottoman period.

“Within the month, that is, very quickly, all the studies that have been done will go through the Central Archaeological Council. Architecture, static which is the most important problem of the monument, the foundation, which is why there are internal and external scaffolding and of course a study of the surrounding area and lighting”, said Mrs. Tsigarida. She takes for granted that the completion of the project will be included in a European program.

“We will start gradually to remove some scaffolding, mainly the external ones from the eastern part,” he added. The project, restoration of the monument is going to join in some European program and it is expected that the interventions will be completed within the next three years.

The history of the Alcazar

The historical name of “Alcazar” is Hamza Bey Mosque and built in 1468, in memory of the soldier Hamza Bey, by his daughter Hafsa. And while initially there was a small mosque, over the years it expanded and acquired a minaret and a large courtyard with a peristyle.

Sultan Selim II ordered the detachment of early Christian columns and capitals from various temples in the city and their transfer here (to the Alcazar). In 1620, repairs were made to the building due to some natural disaster, as evidenced by the inscription on the building. It remained functioning as a mosque until 1925.

Subsequently, the place was bought by a businessman who turned the monument into a cinema. And indeed in recent years in a cinema showing erotic films. It got the name “Alcazar” (meaning fortress, fort in Arabic) when it started operating as a cinema.

Later it passed into the hands of another owner who turned the monument into a commercial store, which had the effect of completely altering the appearance of the building.

In 1977, it was donated to the Red Cross but was deemed unsuitable. In 2006, it was granted to the Ministry of Culture, which has been carrying out restoration works on the monument ever since. It’s about the only mosque with an atrium in the Balkansexcept for the mosques of Constantinople.

The mosque-turned-mosque is oriented towards Mecca and consists of a square hall covered with a dome. The courtyard has a peristyle with 22 columns and a three-sided portico has been added to the main building.