Kos Gazi Hasan Pasha (Loggia) Mosque

Location: Town

Commonly referred to as the Loggia Mosque, the Gazi Hasan Pasha Mosque is located in the same square as the legendary Plane Tree of Hippocrates, and is one of the two mosques in Kos to bear the same name (the other one being that of Platani). Though it is no longer in operation and visitors cannot enter inside, it has been preserved in relatively good condition and is one of the monuments that definitely catch the eye.

Built in 1786, it is a two-storey cubical building with a tiled pitched roof. Its masonry consists mainly of tufa rocks of different shades, but also of built-in chunks of marble —probably reused building material from ancient sites— creating a striking visual effect. Two consecutive rows of arched windows also pierce the walls on three sides, adding a lighter tone to the austere facade. In the northwest corner rises an imposing minaret with a balcony, while, close to it, visitors will find a fourteen-sided domed fountain supported by arches and columns.

The main prayer hall is located on the first floor and has two entrances, one of which is accessible via an elegant external staircase. Covered with a gabled tiled roof, it is made entirely of marble and boasts a frieze, based on two thin pillars. The prayer hall is also very impressive, being adorned with monumental doorways, extracts from the Quran, relief plants and geometrical motifs, as well as depictions of columns that look as if they supported the roof. The configuration of the ground floor generally follows that of the upper story, being, however, divided into eight narrow spaces, which were originally built as cells to accommodate visitors and were later converted into storage spaces.

One of the Gazi Hasan Pasha Mosque’s most striking features, though, is the headless lion sculpture and the marble lion’s cloak, which have been placed in niches at the base of the minaret. These sculptures seem, at first sight, so incongruous in a mosque that one cannot help wondering what the story behind them is. The key to understanding it is the fact that Gazi Hasan Pasha, the official who ordered the mosque’s construction, had a tame lion following him everywhere and was always portrayed along with it. Thus, when these sculptures were discovered after the 1933 earthquake, it was agreed that they should be placed there, in specially designed niches!