Murat Reis Mosque is one of the rare Ottoman-era buildings that survived for centuries on the Greek island of Rhodes. Yet, the mosque, served as a center of faith for Muslims, joined the growing list of Ottoman heritage buildings misused by Greece. It now serves as a music school, Dr. Neval Konuk, who studies Ottoman heritage in the Balkans, said.
The conversion is the latest in Greece's efforts to destroy its Muslim Turkish heritage as the tensions with its neighbor Türkiye escalate.
The mosque, known as "külliye" among the local population (a complex including a mosque, a lodge and a cemetery of fallen Ottoman soldiers) fell victim to the hidden policy of Greece against its Ottoman past. In Rhodes, the policy manifests itself as the purchase of historical buildings from foundations running them and their purported "restoration," which mostly serves to delete its original identity, according to experts. In most cases, the building's original use is abandoned and it is converted into something completely different.
Following Greece's independence, many Ottoman buildings were converted into military prisons, cinemas, provincial offices, hostels and storage units. Moreover, dozens of mosques were closed to worship, while others were converted to churches. Many buildings abandoned since this time have fallen into ruin.
The Fethiye Mosque in Athens, built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1458, is currently being used as an exhibition hall. The city's Tzisdaraki Mosque has also been repurposed as a ceramics museum. Meanwhile, in the country's second-largest city, Thessaloniki, the Hamza Bey Mosque – the oldest in the city – has been closed due to restoration work aiming to transform the building into a museum. The iconic building, which was constructed in 1467, was previously converted into a movie theater. The city's Alaca Imaret Mosque, which is very nearly just as old, has also been turned into a museum.
Thessaloniki's Yeni Mosque – built in 1904 – has long been closed to worship, with its minaret destroyed after the city was incorporated into modern Greece. At present, the building serves as an exhibition hall of the municipality. At the same time, the White Tower, one of the most important Ottoman monuments in Thessaloniki, is promoted as a "Byzantine work" and symbol of the city.
Konuk told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Monday that Murat Reis mosque was originally a cemetery for "martyrs" or Ottoman soldiers who died during the conquest of the island by Ottoman forces in 1522 and later expanded to host the graves of Murat Pasha, a conqueror of Cyprus and a former shah of Iran. "Over time, the complex turned into a center for Muslims here, where they hosted religious wedding ceremonies and other religious conventions," she said. After the passing of Şaban Kargınlıoğlu, volunteer custodian of the mosque, in 2018, the local board for historic monuments seized the place and over time, it was converted into a school, Konuk said. "This is great damage to cultural heritage and a great disrespect to the religion of a community."
She said Greece also resorted to the practice of not recording Ottoman-era buildings into official building registers. "You cannot find any Ottoman-Turkish structure in their register, neither on the mainland nor in the islands. They register it as 'Muslim heritage.' It is either a 'Muslim fountain' or a 'Muslim library.' So, it can easily deny it has any Ottoman heritage," she said.
Konuk added that the mosque's cemetery was also damaged and some were stolen in the past decades. "They did not repair any stones. Also, locals leave animal feed in the cemetery, drawing cats and dogs here. Stray cats and dogs leave their excrement on the graves sacred to Muslims, which is also an insult to people's faith," she said.
