Athens, Greece - September,7. 2014. People walk on the Monastiraki Square. Tzistarakis Mosque is an Ottoman mosque, built in 1759, in Monastiraki Square, central Athens. View of the Acropolis.; Shutterstock ID 233174752; your: Erin Lenczycki; gl: 65050; netsuite: Digital; full: POI
233174752

Shutterstock / Oleg Atlantic

Mosque of Tzistarakis

Athens


Built in 1759, this building on the south side of Monastiraki is one of few surviving examples of a tzami (mosque) in Athens. It has not functioned as a mosque since Independence, except to cater to King Saud of Saudi Arabia when he visited in 1966. Maintained by the Museum of Greek Folk Art, it opens intermittently for temporary exhibitions


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Athens attractions

1. Hadrian’s Library

0.02 MILES

These are the remains of the largest structure erected by Hadrian (2nd century AD). Not just a library, it also held music and lecture rooms. It was laid…

2. Museum of Greek Folk Art

0.05 MILES

This museum has been closed since 2015, when it began its transition to this new site at Adrianou. Once it reopens in 2020, it will display secular and…

3. TAF

0.1 MILES

Whether you want a shot of art, a clever design morsel or a refreshing drink, stop in at TAF, a just-barely updated complex of 1870s brick buildings. The…

4. Roman Agora

0.1 MILES

This was the city’s market area under Roman rule, and it occupied a much larger area than the current site borders. You can see a lot from outside the…

5. Agora Museum

0.11 MILES

Within the Ancient Agora, this museum is packed with archaeological finds, but can get uncomfortably crowded if a tour group is cycling through. It is set…

6. Tower of the Winds

0.13 MILES

This Pentelic marble tower within the Roman Agora, likely built in the 2nd century BC, is both beautiful and functional. Devised by Andronicus, a…

7. Museum of Greek Popular Instruments

0.13 MILES

A single avid ethnomusicologist collected almost 1200 folk instruments; the best are on display in three floors of this house-turned-museum. Headphones…

8. Church of Kapnikarea

0.15 MILES

This small 11th-century church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, stands smack in the middle of the Ermou shopping strip. It was saved from the bulldozers and…