Mosque opening hours: Tuesday - Sunday 8.30 - 15 hours.
Mondays closed. Entrance free.

Kastellorizo's only mosque on Nikolaou Savva Square (also known as Kavos Square) was built by Osman Agha in 1753 during the Ottoman occupation of the island (1523-1913, see page 2: history of Kastellorizo).

Built on a square plan 11 x 11 metres with a single lead-covered dome, the mosque is 12.3 metres high. The entrance to the mosque is reached by steps up to a walkay 2 metres above the square on which the 23.2 metre high minaret stands. [1]

The original simple design with minimal decoration was further simplified during its renovation and conversion to a cultural museum in 2007. The interior walls of whitewashed plaster, the terracotta tiled floor and wooden staircase and upper level all give the interior a light, dignified atmosphere.

The respect with which the mosque has been treated by the Kastellorizians is a splendid example to other communites in Greece (not to mention Bulgaria and former Yugoslavian countries) of what can be achieved with abandoned Turkish mosques, many of which stand sadly neglected. For example, see our photos of Veria in Macedonia. The same could be said for abandoned churches in Turkey which are, after all, important cultural treasures.

In an ideal world, teams of Greek and Turkish artists, historians and architects, under the aegis of UNESCO or the EU, would work together to restore such buildings and their frescos before they crumble to dust or are destroyed by vandalism. Dream on ...

The cultural museum, officially known as the Historical Collection of Kastellorizo, displays local costumes and crafts as well as images, information and a multimedia presentation about the island's history.


 

Notes

1. Measurements based on a reconstruction drawing by architect
Irini Diakostamatiou of the mosque as it was in the 19th century.