Mosque of Suleiman

The Mosque of Suleiman stands at the upper end of Sokratous Street in the Old Town of Rhodes, Greece, near the Clock Tower. It is traditionally said to commemorate Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent's conquest of the island in 1522, after the Knights Hospitaller surrendered following a long siege. The original mosque is believed to have been built soon after the conquest, but the present building dates from 1808, when it was rebuilt in the Ottoman style on the earlier foundations. The building is a modest rectangular structure with a single dome in pale stone, a pink-washed exterior, a portico of arches and a slender minaret. A rare feature among Rhodes mosques is its distinctive pink colour, which marks it out from the surrounding buildings. Its position on Sokratous Street, the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, makes it a landmark between the Palace of the Grand Master end of the Collachium and the commercial quarter. The Ottomans ruled the island from 1522 until 1912, and this mosque is one of several survivors of that era in the Old Town, along with the Mustafa Pasha mosque and the Hamam. The Italian administration of the 1920s and 1930s left the Ottoman monuments largely intact, though some were converted to other uses. The Mosque of Suleiman was closed for many years and used for different purposes, and has been in the care of the Greek state with periodic restoration work. Access to the interior has been limited, and visitors should expect to view the exterior, the portico and the minaret from the street. The architecture is simple, with a domed prayer hall and a covered porch, rather than a grand imperial design. It is best visited as part of a walk down Sokratous Street, together with the Clock Tower and the Ottoman Library nearby, and takes only a few minutes.