Dictionary of islamic architecture

particular Crete and Rhodes, have traces of the
Ottoman occupation although as with southern
mainland Greece there was no substantial Turkish
settlement.
Northern Greece can be divided into three main
areas, Epirus in the west near Albania, Macedonia
in the middle and Thrace on the east side bordering
Turkey. The area of Epirus has few traces of Turkish
rule outside its capital at Ioannina and the city of
Arta. At the centre of Ioannina is the fortress of
Frourion which was substantially repaired in the
eighteenth century by the famous Ottoman governor
Ali Pasha. Within the citadel is the mosque of Asian
Pasha built in 1688 which, with its position
overlooking the lake, is one of the most romantic
Turkish buildings in the Balkans. Whilst Turkish
settlement in Ioannina was limited to the governor
and his garrison, the town of Arta had a new Muslim
suburb added to it. This suburb, now in a state of
disrepair, is one of the best examples of Ottoman
town planning with its mosque, imaret and
hammam.
Macedonia has the highest concentration of
Ottoman monuments in Greece in the five cities of
Thessaloniki, Seres, Kavalla, Yenice-i Vardar and
Verria. In the regional capital, Thessaloniki, the most
significant remains are the Hamsa Beg Cami and the
Imaret Cami both of which date to the fifteenth
century. In addition the city has three large hammams
and a bedestan still standing. The other towns of
Macedonia are less well known although each
contains important monuments such as the aqueduct
of Suleyman the Magnificent in Seres.
The oldest Ottoman monuments in Greece are to
be found in the region of Thrace where there is still
a significant Muslim population. One of the
buildings still in use is the Komotini Mosque built
in 1610 which is the only Balkan mosque to have
large-scale Iznik tile decoration. Other monuments
in the area include the Oruc Beg Hammam in
Dimetoka built in 1398 and the Munschi Feridun
Ahmed Pasha Hammam built in 1571.