Eski Cami - Komotini (Gümülcine), Greece

Eski Cami

This week we are going to Greece to see a mosque that has been there since 1608. It can be found in the centre of Komotini. It was built during the time of Sultan Murat IV. Eski in Turkish means 'old' while in the same town, within a 5 minute walk there is another mosque called Yeni Cami, meaning 'new' mosque. Like me, many would think the 'old' came before the 'new' when in fact Yeni Cami was built 25 years earlier from the Eski Cami! It took its name from the street that its on (its old name), in translation it was called the 'old' neighbourhood.

An old picture of Eski Cami

This mosque has been through several renovations in its time. In 1678, in 1854, in 1919 approx. and in more recent times. During the First Balkan War in 1912-1913, Komotini was taken over by the Bulgarians, the mosque was converted to a church, like many other Ottoman monuments. The Bulgarians destroyed the minaret and in its place they put a  church bell. They also dug up the cemetery, found on the mosque's grounds, and removed the bones of Mehmet, the grandson of Murat IV. The story goes that  the Bulgarians took his bones to Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, and presented the bones to King Ferdinand I. By 1918 the Bulgarians retreated from Komotini as part of a surrender agreement with the Allies, and in October 1919, General Charpy, a French general, assumed control of Western Thrace. At this time the muslim community requested from the general permission to revert the mosque to its former purpose. For six years it had been a church and it needed renovations in order to repair the damage that it withstood. The minaret was brought back to life, this time with two balconies, instead of one, as it was in its former state. (Yunanistan'da Turk Mimari Eseleri, Ismail Bicakci)

Eski Cami as it looks today

A view of the minaret

Inside of Eski Cami

Komotini (Greek: Κομοτηνή, Turkish: Gümülcine) is a city in Thrace, north-eastern Greece. It is the capital of the Rhodope regional unit. (Wikipedia)


More recently, in 2002, was renovated again, with red tiles from Kütahya, Turkey.

On its' premises there is still the graveyard with the tomb of Murat IV's granddaughter.