Church of Saint Nicholas, Chania

Here is a rarity. In Chania is a church sporting both a bell tower and a minaret. The Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas in Splantzia Square was first a Catholic Church, then an Ottoman Mosque, and then an Orthodox Church. Built around 1320 by the Dominican Brotherhood, the church, in time, became a cathedral.

In the 17th century, the Ottomans arrived and made some changes. Saint Nicholas Church became a Turkish army barracks and then the Hunkar Mosque ("Sovereign's Mosque"). Until 1912, when Crete was annexed by Greece, the mosque/church held the Sacred Sword of Turk Dervish. As the Turks invaded, the legendary Dervish climbed the bell tower.

Brandishing his sword at the four corners of the horizon, he shouted, "There is only one God, and his prophet is Muhammad." In 1923, when Greeks and Muslims exchanged populations, the Sacred Sword left town. But Turk Dervish is not forgotten. In 1918 the mosque became the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas.

Architecturally, the Monastery of Saint Nicholas is a basilica. The minaret, at the southwestern corner of the building, is the tallest in the city. It is over 131 feet high. It has two balconies and a conical roof tiled with lead. The bell tower was added in 1918. The tower, about half the height of the minaret, is square and in four stages. The top two have six high-arched openings each.