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YALI TZAMII

The only intact, remaining Mosque is always looking at the lighthouse.

You all have surely noticed the strange building with the round rooftop in the center of the old harbor! Well you would be surprised to know that this used to be a mosque call Mosque of the Sea. Yalı Tzamii (mosque of the sea) or Tzami Kiutsuk Hasan (in honor of the first Garrison commander of Chania Küçük Hasan) dominates the old harbor and is one of the most famous monuments of Chania. It is the first mosque built by the Ottomans in Crete.

The mosque, a shining example of Renaissance Islamic art, was the work of an Armenian architect. In the courtyard of Giali Tzamii there were palm trees and tombs of pashas and janissaries. Yalı Mosque functioned as a Muslim temple until 1923, when the last Muslims left Crete with the exchange of populations. At times it was used as an Archaeological Museum, warehouse, museum of folk art and today hosts events and exhibitions.