The Old Mosque is located in the area formerly known as the Atik Mosque in Komotini, on today's Gravias Street. The mosque was built after the conquest of the city, but its construction date is unknown.

The work was repaired in 1678, 1853 and 1920. Evliya Çelebi says that the mosque was in the middle of the market and had a crowded congregation.

The first state of the Old Mosque was a small building with a square plan, covered with a dome and tiles. In 1853, during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid, a two-story annex with a tile roof, twice the size of the main structure, was built and the mosque took its current form.

The Bulgarians, who occupied the city in 1912, demolished the single-balcony minaret of the Old Mosque down to its balcony and converted the mosque into a church. They broke the inscription on the west side of the mosque and also demolished the elegant lead-covered domed tomb of Prince Mehmet, the grandson of Sultan Murat IV, in the graveyard on the east side. They went further, dug up the graves, collected the bones and sent them to Bulgarian King Ferdinand in Sofia.

When the region came under French rule (1919-1920), upon the application of the leading figures of the Turkish minority, the building was returned to them and converted back into a mosque. The mosque's two existing minarets with balconies were also built during that period. The well-maintained and well-maintained Old Mosque is still open for worship today.[1]

Source:

[1] Yilmaz, M. E. (2023). Turkish Works Converted into Churches (pp. 1056-1063). YTB Publications. | Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (ytb.gov.tr)

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