Fethiye Mosque, Ottoman mosque in Ioannina, Greece.
Fethiye Mosque is a former Ottoman mosque inside Ioannina's Its Kale fortress. Its single-domed prayer hall has a narrow wooden balcony added later on the north side, and the minaret rises at the southwestern corner. The mihrab on the south wall is framed by two Byzantine column bases, probably from the church of the Taxiarch Michael that stood here.
A first mosque was completed in 1430, right after the Ottoman conquest, beside the ruins of a 13th-century Byzantine church of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. That wooden building was replaced by a stone one in 1611. Ali Pashë Tepelena remodelled it extensively in 1795 as the main mosque of his palace; it was abandoned in the 1820s.
The dome and arcade carry painted flower compositions combined with geometric motifs, among them inscriptions from the Quran. At the centre of the epistyle stands the Islamic profession of faith: "One God and Muhammad his prophet". Two small Byzantine columns, probably from the church of Taxiarchis Michael, frame the mihrab.
The mosque sits within the Its Kale fortress complex and is reached by walking through the historic stronghold. Being used as a museum space, you can visit to explore both the architectural interior and the exhibitions on display there.
The minaret rises at the southwest corner, not the northwest, and its base carries carved stone slabs showing a schematic Muslim city and birds. Inside, two small Byzantine columns, probably from the church of Taxiarchis Michael, frame the mihrab. The mihrab itself has plaster and painted decoration, and the entablature bears the Islamic profession of faith.
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