Bayrakli Mosque, Chios

Bayrakli Mosque
Bayrakli Mosque
Μπαϊρακλί Τζαμί
	The former mosque 2017
Religion
Affiliation	Islam (former)
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Mosque; (1892–1920s)
Status	Abandoned; (as a mosque);; Repurposed; (for cultural purposes);
Location
Location	Chios, North Aegean
Country	Greece
	Location of the former mosque in Greece
	Interactive map of Bayrakli Mosque
Coordinates	38°22′22″N 26°08′10″E / 38.37278°N 26.13611°E
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Style	Ottoman
Founder	Abdul Hamit II
Completed	1892
Materials	Stone; brick

The Bayrakli Mosque (Greek: Μπαϊρακλί Τζαμί, from Turkish: Bayraklı Camii, lit. 'Mosque of the Flag-bearer') also known as the Hamidiye Mosque (Greek: Τζαμί Χαμηδιέ) is a former mosque on the island of Chios, in the North Aegean region of Greece. Built in 1892 during the Ottoman-era, it is one of the three surviving former mosques on the island, the other two being the Osmaniye Mosque and the Mecidiye Mosque, all three no longer used for Islamic worship.

History

Per the marble inscription above the doorframe, the mosque's construction started in 1891–1892 by order of Sultan Abdülhamit II, back when Chios was part of the Ottoman Empire and the Vilayet of the Archipelago.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The Bayrakli Mosque is located inside the fortress of the old town Chios, on Saint George Street, on the location of the ancient city of Chios. Several materials taken from ancient buildings were used for its construction, while according to a local legend part of it was built on the site of and old Genoese Catholic church; however such tale is not confirmed from any historiography.^[1]

Following the Armenian Genocide, the Treaty of Lausanne and the exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece in the early twentieth century, the building no longer functioned as a mosque but housed a displaced Armenian family, whose initials that they carved in the stone can still be seen.^[1] It was eventually sold to a bank, which donated it to the Greek Ministry of Culture.^[1] The Greek Ministry of Culture registered the building on March 5, 1999, and for some time, it functioned as a repair shop for electronic devices.^[3]^[4] Renovations works on the mosque began in 2018 and finished in 2023, when the mosque was made available to the public once more as a monument.^[1]

There have been calls for the former mosque to be given back to the Muslim community as a prayer center, although as of November 2023^[update], it has not been implemented.^[4]

Architecture

The mosque has a rectangular floor plan and covered with a roof, while the main prayer area was torn down.^[3] Above the mihrab, the panel reads "Küllema dehale aleyha Zekeriyya el-mihrab" ("each time Zacharias goes in the altar where Mary takes place"), referring to Virgin Mary and the visits of High Priest Zacharias to Solomon's Temple.^[1]^[3]

During the renovation works that were completed by 2023, large parts of the interior decoration were reconstructed, while the exterior was systematically preserved.^[1]

The Bayrakli Mosque was built during the same time as another Ottoman mosque in Chios, the Osmaniye Mosque, and thus shares some similarities in architectural style.^[2]