One of the largest Greek islands, Lesbos lies just a stone’s throw from the Turkish coast. Although it is now the gateway to the European Union, for many years it belonged to the Ottoman Empire, and its remains are mixed here with the monuments of ancient Greece. Unlike the ancient ones, however, the Islamic monuments are in an impoverished state, and their repair is complicated by the political disagreements between Greece and Turkey.
Lesbos (from our special correspondent) – Lesvos is even hotter than usual in the summer heat of the sun. Only a gentle breeze blows from the sea surrounding the capital city of Mytilene, which does not reduce the feeling of suffocation in any way. Shortly after noon, the city is quiet, the locals hide at home, the streets are almost empty, only occasionally an old car or motorbike passes by.
The mosque, hidden in a narrow street of the old Turkish quarter of Epano Skala, looks all the more abandoned and dilapidated. The building, nicknamed the Valide Mosque, dates from the beginning of the 17th century at the latest and is thus one of the oldest mosques on the island. Scaffolding now surrounds both the walls and the minarets.
“You can’t come here now, there’s a finished construction site,” explains the civil engineer who works here. Machines and piles of stones can be seen through the half-open door of the fence that surrounds the site. But the construction is far from finished.
The building, nicknamed the Valide Mosque, dates from the beginning of the 17th century at the latest and is thus one of the oldest mosques on the island. | Photo: Jakub Plíhal
Although the typically complex relations between the two NATO allies are not the best, in recent years they seemed to be on the right track. The state of the mosques, which are the Ottoman heritage of the now Greek island, however, remains a thorn in the side.
Constant delays
Back in 2010, Greece struck a deal with Turkey to repair dilapidated mosques on the island as the Turks renovate old Orthodox churches on the coast opposite Lesvos. “We will certainly repair it for at least another year and a half. They are archaeologists, they always have to thoroughly examine everything,” laughs a middle-aged woman with long dark hair.
However, it is not only the archaeologists who are slowing down the work, but, according to critics, mainly the authorities. The repair of this mosque only started in 2019, when the Greek authorities received a European grant for the development of regions in the Aegean Sea. But repairs slowed significantly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sofia from a museum back into a mosque in 2020, which Greece didn’t like.
At the time, the North Aegean Regional Governor, Kostas Moutzouris, called for a halt to all repairs in an open letter. “Under the current circumstances, the financing and implementation of the project must be stopped,” he said in the letter. The governor added that he came to this decision because he cannot be indifferent to “what is happening in Istanbul, and especially the conversion of the Hagia Sofia into a mosque by the Erdogan government”.
But the local Turkish authorities recall the mutual agreement, which only applies to neighboring regions in the Aegean Sea. “While Ayvalik (a Turkish region near Lesbos) fulfilled the agreement and renovated the buildings, Greece is not following the agreement even after 14 years,” Neval Konuk, an associate professor of architectural history at Marmara University, told Anadolu Agency in May.
Valide Jami, the oldest mosque on the island, will be turned into a museum, and although its reconstruction is dragging on, at least something is happening with it. The building was visited by the Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoniová in June. She praised the fact that more old landmarks are being repaired on Lesbos, including the castle or ancient monuments, and that the development of Mytilene should continue in the coming years. She did not comment on the Turkish criticism.
Debris in the city center
Other mosques are even worse off. The Yalı Mosque, built in 1805, was used as a butcher shop until 2000 and today serves as an office for agricultural tools. In the near future, there is no danger that it will start to be used as a tabernacle again.
Yeni is among the largest mosques on the island, with a once high ceiling that is now missing, and a garden that surrounds the structure. | Photo: Jakub Plíhal
Right in the heart of the capital is the Yeni Mosque from 1815. Without external paint and plaster, it has been exposed to external influences for more than 15 years and is rapidly deteriorating. At the same time, it is among the largest mosques on the island, with a once high ceiling, which is now missing, and a garden that surrounds the building.
After the end of Ottoman rule and the exchange of population between Greece and Turkey in the 1920s, the Muslim community left and the mosque began to deteriorate.
“The destroyed mosques in the city center are for us a reminder of our history and current problems,” adds local guide Christoph, who studies the history of the island.
One story
Locals see nothing wrong with the Valide Jami mosque becoming a museum. On the contrary. “A lot of Turkish tourists come here every year and here they will be able to see how peaceful the coexistence of both nations was during the Ottoman Empire,” boasts the engineer, who does not wish to be named. Repairs are not to be discussed here with journalists.
In April, Lesbos began issuing fast-track visas for Turkish tourists under an EU-endorsed deal between Athens and Ankara that reinstated a previous special Schengen express visa program for Turkish citizens who want to visit some of the eastern Aegean islands.
“Turkey is over there, it’s much closer than mainland Greece, it goes without saying that we have a lot in common,” adds Christoph, pointing across the sea to the visible Turkish coast clouded by a light haze. “We have a common history, we have to take care of it,” he believes. He describes the political disputes of the two countries as childish.