Tzistarakis Mosque

Close up view

The Tzistarakis Mosque ( Greek Τζαμί Τζισταράκη , Turkish Cizderiye Câmii ) is an Ottoman mosque built in 1759 on Monastiraki Street in central Athens . It is used as a branch of the Museum of Greek Folk Art (Μουσείο Ελληνικής Λαϊκής Τέχνης).

history

The mosque was built in 1759 by the Ottoman governor of Athens, Moustapha Agha Tzistarakis. According to tradition, Tzistarakis used one of the pillars of the Olympieion to make lime for its construction, which led to his dismissal, as the Turks saw in it a sacrilege that would conjure vengeful spirits on the city - which was caused by the outbreak of the plague that same year has apparently been confirmed. It is more likely, however, that Tzistarakis used a column from the nearby Hadrian's Library .

Because of its proximity to the Ancient Agora of Athens , the mosque was also known as the Mosque of the Low Wells ( Τζαμί του Κάτω Σιντριβανιού ) or the Mosque of the Under Market ( Τζαμί του Κάτω Παζαριού ). During the Greek Revolution , the city elders used the building as a meeting hall. After Greece gained independence, the building was used in a number of ways: it was the site of a ball in honor of King Otto of Greece in March 1834. It also served as a barracks, prison and warehouse.

In 1915 the building was rebuilt under the direction of the architect Anastasios Orlandos and from 1918 to 1973 it was used as a museum for Greek crafts. In 1923 it was renamed the National Museum of Decorative Arts . In 1966 it was provisionally renovated to create a place of prayer in the city for the deposed King Saud of Saudi Arabia .

In 1973 the main part of the Museum of Greek Folk Art moved to 17 Kydathinaion Street, with the mosque becoming an outpost. The ceramic collection V. Kyriazopoulos remained in the mosque to this day. In 1981 the building was damaged by an earthquake and opened to the public again in 1991.

construction

The mosque has a square plan and two floors. The lower floor on the level of the square houses shops, the upper floor is the actual prayer room. This is vaulted with a dome on an octagonal drum. Two rows of windows on the side walls and smaller round windows at the base of the dome provide light for the prayer room. The mihrab is located in the middle of the east wall with a muqarnas semi-dome at the end. The entrance to the prayer room is in the west wall, above the door there is the foundation inscription on the outside. On the west side of the mosque there is a portico with three arches and three domes. The minaret that was located in the southwest corner of the mosque was demolished between 1839 and 1843.

literature

Erse Brouskari: Ottoman architecture in Greece . Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Directorate of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Antiquities, Athens 2009, ISBN 978-960-214-793-1 , pp. 74-76.
Thanasis Giochalas, Tonia Kafetzaki: Athens. Tracing the city through history and literature . Estia, Athens 2013, ISBN 978-960-05-1559-6 , p. 109.

Web links

Commons : Tzistarakis Mosque - collection of images

Side to the mosque at the Museum of Greek Folk Art

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Τζαμί Τζισταράκη. In: Archeology of the City of Athens. National Research Foundation, accessed June 22, 2014 (Greek).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Thanasis Giochalas, Tonia Kafetzaki: Athens. Tracing the city through history and literature . Estia, Athens 2013, ISBN 978-960-05-1559-6 , p. 109.
↑ ^a ^b ^c The mosque. Museum of Greek Folk Art. Retrieved January 26, 2015 .

37,976 23,727Coordinates: 37 ° 58 ′ 33.6 ″ N , 23 ° 43 ′ 37.2 ″ E

[EIE-1] Τζαμί Τζισταράκη. In: Archeology of the City of Athens. National Research Foundation, accessed June 22, 2014 (Greek).

[moschee-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Thanasis Giochalas, Tonia Kafetzaki: Athens. Tracing the city through history and literature . Estia, Athens 2013, ISBN 978-960-05-1559-6 , p. 109.

[MELT-3] The mosque. Museum of Greek Folk Art. Retrieved January 26, 2015 .