Fethiye Mosque (Athens)

The Fethiye Mosque (Greek: Φετιχιέ τζαμί; Turkish: Fethiye Camii, "Mosque of the Conquest") is a 15th-century Ottoman mosque in central Athens, Greece.

It was built in 1456/1458, soon after the Ottoman conquest of the Duchy of Athens. It is located on the northern side of the ancient Roman forum, near the Tower of the Winds, and was built on the ruins of a middle Byzantine basilica. During Ottoman times, it was commonly known as the "Wheatmarket Mosque". From 1834, after Greek independence, and until the early 20th century, it was used as a military bakery. Since then it was used mostly as a storage place for various finds from the excavations in the Agora and the Acropolis of Athens.[1]

The mosque has never undergone a restoration and has serious static problems. In autumn 2010, the Greek Ministry of Culture ordered the emptying of the building from the various antiquities stored there, and the beginning of the process to restore it and open it to the public.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Φετιχιέ τζαμί" (in Greek). Archaeology of the City of Athens. http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/gr/arxeio_more.aspx?id=221. Retrieved 10 April 2011. 
  2. ^ N. Kontrarou-Rassia (4 October 2010). "Τα αρχαία φεύγουν, το Φετιχιέ Τζαμί έρχεται" (in Greek). Eleftherotypia. http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.article&id=209631. Retrieved 11 April 2011.