Eski Mosque, Komotini

The Eski Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Two Balconies, is a mosque located on Gravias Street, in the town of Komotini, in the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region of Greece. The mosque was completed in 1608, or 16771688, based on an Ottoman era inscription.

Overview

Despite its name, the Eski Mosque was built after the Yeni Mosque, completed in 1585. It is likely that an original mosque stood at the site of the Eski Mosque, dating from the time of the Ottoman conquest of the area under Evrenos. According to the 1892 Ottoman salname, the mosque featured an inscription in a "non-Ottoman" language, hence it is possible that the mosque was built on the site of a former Byzantine church.
In the 1910s, the Bulgarians turned the mosque into a church and destroyed part of the minaret. The building was returned to the Muslim minority in 19191920, under the French administration of Komotini. The mosque's two existing minarets with balconies were built during that period.