The mosque is located in Egnatia, almost at the junction with Venizelou and is the oldest mosque in Thessaloniki
Until 2025, the Alcazar in Thessaloniki, the monument located in front of the old town hall of Thessaloniki, the Caravan Sarai, which was a place with accommodation for travelers and pilgrims in the Ottoman period, is being restored.
The Hamza Bey Mosque, known as the Alcazar, has joined the Recovery Fund, with funding of 10,511,984 euros and a completion horizon of 2025.
The historical monument is being fully restored by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, while the Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments has been designated as the implementing agency.
The mosque is located in Egnatia, almost at the confluence with Venizelou and is the oldest mosque in Thessaloniki.
As the head of antiquities of Pella and deputy head of the Antiquities Tax Office of the City of Thessaloniki, Betina Tsigarida, recently stated, 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 used in mild cultural actions.
It is the only mosque with an atrium in the Balkans, apart from 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.
The history of the Alcazar
The historical name of “Alcazar” is Hamza Bey Mosque and it was 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.
THE Sultan Selim II, he ordered the detachment of early Christian columns and capitals from various temples in the city and their transfer here (to the Alcázar). 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 ecommercial 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.
Source: Skai
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