The Tzistarakis Mosque stands on Monastiraki Square in Athens. Mustapha Agha Tzistarakis, the Ottoman governor of Athens, built it in 1759. The infobox lists the style as Ottoman, with one main dome and three smaller ones, and the article gives no materials or dimensions. Tradition says the lime for it was made from a column of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, though the article thinks Hadrian's Library more likely.
After the Greek War of Independence it hosted a ball for King Otto in March 1834, then served as barracks, prison and storehouse. Anastasios Orlandos supervised a partial rebuild in 1915. From 1918 to 1973 it housed the Museum of Greek Handwork, renamed the National Museum of Decorative Arts in 1923.
An earthquake damaged it in 1981, and it reopened in 1991. It is now an annex of the Museum of Greek Folk Art, with over 4,250 objects and the Kyriazopoulos pottery collection.
Comments