St. Nicholas Church, Kavala

40°56′10.0″N 24°24′47.9″E / 40.936111°N 24.413306°E / 40.936111; 24.413306ArchitectureTypeMosque, churchStyleOttoman architectureCompleted1530SpecificationsDome(s)1Minaret(s)1 (now bell-tower)MaterialsBrick, stone

The Church of Saint Nicholas (Greek: Ιερός Ναός Αγίου Νικολάου) of Kavala is a Greek Orthodox Church in the town of Kavala, in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. It was built during Ottoman period as Ibrahim Pasha Mosque (Turkish: İbrahim Paşa Camii) before it was converted into a church in modern times.^[1]

History

The building was erected in 1530 during the Ottoman rule of Macedonia as an Islamic mosque, perhaps on the site of a pre-existing Christian church, by Ibrahim Pasha, vizier to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and it was the largest mosque in Kavala.^[2]

In the 1920s the mosque was converted into a church for Christian worship, dedicated to Saint Nicholas; the bell-tower was built upon the base of the destroyed minaret.^[3][4][5] On the eastern side of the church there is a mural depicting the arrival of Apostle Paul in the port.^[2]

Gallery

• 
  Panoramic view of Kavala in 1913 from the customs house.
• 
  The church with the mural.

See also

• Islam in Greece
• List of mosques in Greece
• List of former mosques in Greece
• Conversion of mosques into non-Islamic places of worship

References

Bibliography

• Multiple (2008). Η Οθωμανική Αρχιτεκτονική στην Ελλάδα [The Ottoman Architecture in Greece] (in Greek). Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού (ΥΠ.ΠΟ.). p. 264. ISBN 978-960-214-792-4.

Further reading

• Lowry, Heath W. (2009). In the Footsteps of the Ottomans: A Search for Sacred Spaces & Architectural Monuments in Northern Greece. Istanbul: Mary Martin Booksellers / Bahçesehir University Publications. pp. 61–81. ISBN 9789756437865.

External links

• Media related to Saint Nicholas Church, Kavala at Wikimedia Commons