Osmaniye Mosque ( el, Τζαμί Οσμανιγιέ, tr, Osmaniye Camii), also locally called Frangomachala Mosque (Τζαμί του Φραγκομαχαλά, "Mosque of the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

Quarter") is one of the three remaining mosques on the island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, located inside the old citadel area of Chios town, which was the main neighborhood of the Turkish community of the island.

History

The mosque's construction started in 1891 on the orders of

Sultan Abdülhamit II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

, when Chios city was serving as the capital of the

Vilayet of the Archipelago The Vilayet of the Archipelago ( ota, ولايت جزائر بحر سفيد, ;"Vilayet of the Islands of the Mediterranean Sea") was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire extant from 1867 to 1912–13, including, at ...

. The construction was completed in 1892. The marble inscription (''kitâbe'') over the door of the mosque mentions this information. It was prepared by the Turkish artist Feyzî.

Recent

The mosque was officially registered by

Greek Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture and Sports ( el, Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού) is the government department of Greece entrusted with preserving the country's cultural heritage, promoting the arts, and overseeing sp ...

as a cultural landmark on January 21, 1983. As a result, in 1997, the mosque was repaired and renovated by the Greek government and made available for hosting exhibitions and various cultural events.

Architecture

The mosque has a rectangular plan with a 8x10 m area and a 8x8 m main praying hall. It has a roof-floor, an inlet port and also a gallery on the west side which serves to access the

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

. The minaret has an octagonal shape and is located on the northeastern corner of the mosque. In addition, there is a historical Turkish building connected to the minaret and is an outbuilding to the mosque which contained service rooms during Turkish rule. The Osmanie Mosque was built in same period with another Turkish mosque which still survives, Hamidiye Mosque, in Chios and shows similarities in architectural style.

References

{{Mosques in Greece Ottoman mosques in Greece Buildings and structures in Chios Ottoman Chios Mosques completed in 1892 19th-century architecture in Greece Former mosques in Greece