The Valide Sultan Mosque (Greek: Τζαμί Βαλιδέ Σουλτάνας, from Turkish: Valide Sultan Camii, meaning "Mosque of the Sultana Mother") is an Ottoman-era mosque in the town of Rethymno, Crete, in southern Greece. Built shortly after the town was conquered by the Ottomans in the seventeen century, the mosque was dedicated to Turhan Sultan, the mother of Sultan Mehmed IV, after whom it was also named in honour. As with most Ottoman mosques in Greece it no longer open for worship, nor is it accessible to the public due to the numerous structures that have now been built around it.
History
The oldest historical reference to the mosque can be dated back to 1654, just a few years after the Ottoman conquest of the town; a document from 1671 mentions its dependence on the Valide Sultan Mosque in Bahçe Kapısı, in Constantinople (now Istanbul).[1] It was named for Turhan Hadice, the sultan's mother, who also founded a school in Rethymno, which now houses the first elementary school of Rethymno.[1] Locally it was known as the "Great Gate Mosque", as it was built in the 'Great Gate' district of the town.[2][3] The mosque served the Muslim population of Rethymno for centuries until the exchange of Muslim and Christian populations between Greece and Turkey in 1923, thereupon it was abandoned by 1925.[1]
Architecture
The mosque, which today is surrounded by the buildings of the modern urban environment, consists of two domes, while the praying niche (mihrab) is flanked by columns which use two Corinthian capitals turned upside-down as pedestals. The semi-circular arch of the mihrab is surrounded by a relief of an arbor and an inscription quoting a verse from the Quran (specifically Al-Imran, 37). Right above the entrance a inscription dated to 1816 can be found, which refers to the date that a renovation by Hilmi Ibrahim Pasha took place.[1][3]
Its minaret needed to be rebuilt by 1878 as evidenced by a plaque placed on the mosque, naming its benefactor as Mehmet Agha Bolanakis, a local Rethymniote.[3] The minaret is built with isomorphic stones, it has a cylindrical exterior, while its tip is pyramid-like in shape.[1]
The mosque's fountain can be found inside a shop on Bosporus street, which was open space in the past. It has nine small columns with relief motifs of a crescent moon and a six-pointed star.[1]
Katsipoulaki, Basileia (2009). Η τουριστική κίνηση του νομού Ρεθύμνης: Εξέλιξη και προοπτική [The tourist activity of the prefecture of Rethymno: Evolution and perspective] (in Greek). Kavala, Greece.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
