The Muslim monuments of Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki, Greece, is best known for its rich Byzantine heritage. Like most Greek cities, its identity is usually presented as exclusively Greek and Orthodox. What is less known about it, is its rich heritage of two other religions: Judaism and Islam. One may find it hard to imagine that at the start of the century, the skyline of the city was dominated by minarets. In this article, we’ll have a small introduction to the Muslim religious monuments of Thessaloniki.

In 1430, the prominent Byzantine city fell to the hands of the Ottoman Empire. The ottomans put their mark on the city, starting with the transformation of the most important churches into mosques. In addition to these transformed sanctuaries, mosques would be constructed in the next decades. The city spent 482 years as a major city of the Ottoman Empire – Selanik being its Turkish name – and many more mosques were to be built throughout these centuries. Finally, in 1912, during the Balkan Wars, the city was captured by the Greek army. It was the turning of a very different page in its history.

This was soon to be followed by two other dramatic events. In 1917, a massive fire destroyed a great part of its historical core together with many monuments. Then, in 1923, Greece and Tukey signed the treaty of Lausanne, which dictated the compulsory exchange of Muslim and Christian populations between the two countries. This meant that all the Muslims in Thessaloniki had to leave for Turkey. Violently and suddenly, the centuries-long Muslim community disappeared from the city. At the same time, thousands of Christian refugees arrived; they would form a basic pillar of the future evolution of the city and its cultural identity.

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