Mosque of the Janissaries

Overview

The Mosque of the Janissaries or the Yali-Tzamisi Mosque is the oldest Ottoman building in Crete and cannot be missed when visiting the Old Town of Chania. Built towards the latter half of the 17th century, on the site of a small Venetian church, by the Turks, this building's striking Islamic architecture makes it a prominent attraction in the city. The building however stopped functioning as a mosque in 1923 and while it still features semi-spherical domes and arches, the minaret of the mosque was destroyed during World War II. Since then, the mosque has been used for many different purposes; as a café, a tourist information office, a museum, and today as as an exhibition and events venue.

Prayer Facilities

Although the attraction was once a mosque, it currently does not offer prayer facilities for Muslims. Muslim visitors can however make use of the services offered at one of the functioning mosques in the city, namely Masjed Qibaa and Masjid Al Rahma, the latter of which is known to have prayer facilities for women.

Halal Food

Visitors to the Mosque of the Janissaries will be able to find plenty of cafés and restaurants in the area surrounding the attraction. However, while the Old Town area has numerous food outlets, there are no known Halal certified establishments. Muslim tourists will therefore have to dine on suitable vegetarian and seafood dishes at the local restaurants.

Must See

The Islamic architecture

Location

Mosque of the Janissaries, Chania, Greece

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