Chania Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque

Location: Town

The mosque of Küçük Hasan in Chania is the only one of its kind in the city. It is located in the Old Venetian Port of Chania, overlooking the sea and the old town. It was built on the grounds of a Christian temple, in honor of Küçük Hasan Pasha, who captured the city in 1645. The Küçük Hasan Mosque is also called Yali Tzami, meaning mosque of the sea, due to its proximity to the water.

The top of the mosque boasts a large dome, which is reinforced by four stone arches. On the west and north sides of the mosque, you can also see a narrow atrium that is now closed off, covered by six additional smaller domes. The whole structure is stone-built, with the domes being red in color and the rest, a signature white-washed color. It serves as a prime example of Islamic architecture in a city influenced by many cultures.

The building has been used for a number of different activities through the years, and its infrastructure has changed vastly. In 1923, the mosque stopped operating as a traditional Islamic religious ground and, in 1939, its minaret was wrecked. Until that point, the mosque also boasted a large courtyard with towering palm trees that served as a burial ground for Ottoman rulers. During World War II, it was home to the Archaeological Museum of Chania but was moved to a different location later, with the mosque being used as a folklore museum and a warehouse.
Nowadays, it is used by the municipality of Chania as a special exhibition area.