Kucuk Hasan Pasha Mosque, Chania

The Kucuk Hasan Pasha Mosque is also known as Yali Camii or Shore Mosque. It was erected in 1649, four years after the Ottoman conquest of Chania. Built on the site of a pre-existing Christian temple, it was named in honor of the first Ottoman governor of Chania, Kucuk Hasan Pasha. "Pasha" means "ruler." "Kucuk Hasan" means "Little Hasan."

Chania fell to the Ottomans after a siege of two months. The takeover of the city was savage and bloody. In the religious and "ethnic cleansing" procedures that followed, most churches in town became mosques. The only exception was the newly built Kucuk Hasan Pasha Mosque. It was an active house of worship for 300 years until 1923.

The religious edifice ceased functioning as a mosque after the Greco-Turkish War. The war was followed by a general population exchange between Turkey and Greece. The mosque's minarets were demolished in 1939. In the years since its shutdown, the mosque has served as a warehouse, folk museum, tourist information center, and events venue.

The mosque is very similar to the mosque of Spaniakos near Paleochora, Crete. Both buildings were designed by the same Armenian architect. On the roof is a large dome supported by four graceful stone arches anchored in the four corners of the central building. On the sea-facing sides are seven small domes reaching the height of the main building.