Мечеть Мурата Рейса Murat Reis Mosque

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The Murat Reis Mosque is a historic mosque from the Ottoman era. It is named after Murat Reis the Elder, a prominent admiral of the Ottoman fleet during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The mosque still stands, in need of restoration and, like most Ottoman mosques in Rhodes, is not open for worship. It is notable for its unusual minaret design, a post-Ottoman addition that replaced the original structure when the island was under Italian administration after the Italo-Turkish War. It is the only mosque located outside the Old Town.
It was built around 1623 by Ebubekir Pasha on the site of an earlier church dedicated to Saint Anthony. Admiral Reis himself was buried in the cemetery after his death, and his grave has become an object of worship and veneration by the Muslim population of the island, as well as those living across the sea on the Anatolian coast. They visited the tomb during pilgrimages, carrying lamps and offerings. It was customary to slaughter animals near the tomb and distribute the meat to the poor.
The building was restored in 1797-1798 by Murabit Hasan Bey, who was also buried there. This is evident from the inscription above the door, which indicates the benefactor and the year of its restoration from almost complete destruction. The original minaret of the mosque was destroyed in May 1912 after bombing during the Italo-Turkish War. It was later rebuilt by the Italians in the form it is today and restored in 1993. The complex was damaged again in 2013 when the mausoleum collapsed due to severe weather conditions. Further restoration work for the mosque was approved in early 2024, with an estimated cost of 40.000 euros.
The mosque is located at the bend of the main road that leads from the harbor to the beach. The prayer hall of the Murat Reis Mosque has a square plan and is decorated with a dome, and the gallery and the top of the minaret are plastered. In front, on the north-west side, there is a portico consisting of three arches supporting a wooden ceiling, characteristic of many Turkish mosques. The mosque is in urgent need of restoration.
The wooden minbar is placed to the right of the mihrab, itself a semicircular recess surrounded by two stone columns, surprisingly devoid of any written text, although it is possible that such text existed at one time and was later vandalized.