Trikala, Greece, Mosque of Osman Shah

The mosque of Osman Shah in Trikala, Greece, was designed by the famous Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan.  In the 16th century, when the mosque was commissioned, Greece was under Ottoman rule.  Osman Shah was a grandson of one of Sultan Selim I's daughters and served as the local governor of the Ottoman sanjak, or province, of Trikala, which is in the Thessaly area of north Central Greece. I saw it on a visit to Trikala when posted to Greece as ambassador 2013-2016.  

The minaret of the mosque is truncated; it originally would have been topped by a conical roof cap similar to those on other Ottoman mosques of the era.  Greek-Turkish clashes in the 19th and early 20th centuries led to the independence of Greece from the Ottomans in 1830 but tensions persisted, culminating in bitter fighting after World War I, which in turn led to massive expulsions of Muslims from Greece and of Greek Orthodox Christians from what is now Turkey. In the course of these protracted conflicts, church and mosque properties in both countries were seized (e.g. the Church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, former seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, now officially a mosque).  In some localities in what is now Greece the distinctive minarets were decapitated.  Even so, the mosque of Osman Shah retains its graceful original lines and today is both a protected UNESCO site and a major cultural landmark in Trikala. 

This painting is framed in maple, with off-white mat and museum glass glazing.  Overall dimensions 17.1 x 14 x 1.25", with image area of 10.6 x 7.25 inches.