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Saint Mark's Basilica, Heraklion
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Saint Mark's Basilica, Heraklion
The Basilica of Saint Mark (Greek: Βασιλική του Αγίου Μάρκου; Italian: Basilica di San Marco), also known as Hagios Markos (Greek: Άγιος Μάρκος), is a former Roman Catholic basilica, located in the center of the city of Heraklion, Crete, in Greece. Situated in the Eleftheriou Venizelou Square, the structure was built in 1239, during the Venetian rule of the island, and was primarily used by the local lords and officials of the island.
After the Ottoman conquest of Crete in 1669, it was converted into a mosque, named as the Defterdar Ahmet Pasha Mosque (Greek: Δεφτερδάρ Αχμέτ Πασά Τζαμί, Turkish: Defterdar Ahmet Paşa Camii), in honour of its founder, Ahmet Pasha. The building was used as a mosque until 1915.
The building was restored after 1956 and was repurposed as a public art gallery. It is one of the few former Roman Catholic churches standing in Crete. Architecturally, it is a three-aisled basilica church with an elevated central nave, built in the Gothic style. It has a portico on the western façade entrance. At various stages it has had a bell-tower and a minaret; however, both are no longer extant.
The Basilica of Saint Mark was built in 1239, after the Venetian conquest of Crete following the Fourth Crusade, with the first stone put in place by the Latin bishop of Ierapetra. It was built in Gothic style, in accordance to the Western churches and highlighting the difference of the Latin dogma. It was built in the center of the city of Candia (modern Heraklion), the capital of Crete, across the palace of the Duke of Candia, and was used by the duke and high-ranking officials of the local commune for their needs. The church belonged not to the Latin bishop but to the duke himself, who appointed a prefect or a "chaplain" in charge of the church. The ducal degrees were announced in the entrance of the basilica, which was also the place were the official assumptions of the lords and officials' duties took place. The members of the duke's family were buried in the church's yard.
The first church was severely damaged in the 1303 Crete earthquake, but it was later restored. A stronger still earthquake which hit the island in 1508 damaged Saint Mark anew. In a report dating to 1552 it is mentioned that the northern wall was about to collapse, and thus it was supported with four struts, two of which survive to this day. In a document from 1514 the local duke asked for wooden beams to be transferred from the town of Sfakia for the repair works of the basilica. Those works were completed in 1557, but Saint Mark was once more partially ruined following earthquakes in 1564 and 1595. Renovation works on the church took place in 1599 with the builder Micheles Raptopoulos and the carpenter Giannis Kladas in charge, though after an autopsy in 1625 the northern wall was deemed again to be about to collapse.
During the Cretan War (1645–1669), the bell tower of the basilica was used as an observatory, with its bells ringing every time the bombardment started. Saint Mark's bell tower was different from the others in the city due to its top that was flat and battlemented and also had a clock. After the surrender of Candia to the Ottomans, the Venetians took the bells and other relics away.
After the fall of Candia in 1669, the building was surrendered to Ahmet Pasha, who was the Ottoman defterdar (the minister of finance) from 1661/2 until 1675. Ahmet Pasha converted the Catholic church into a mosque and bought some buildings of the city, including the duke's palace, in order to fund the mosque. The Ottomans demolished the bell tower of Saint Mark and in its place they erected a minaret, while also destroying the murals and frescoes in the interior of the church and throwing away the bone relics to build a mihrab and the minbar. The mosque was named after its founder, Defterdar Ahmet Pasha and remained a mosque for over two centuries until 1915, when it was closed by the Greek state.
The Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi visited Crete in 1669 and wrote that the basilica was situated in the market of Candia, with its façade facing the fountain square (the Fountain of Morosini), and that it was founded by the sultan Mansur in the times of Caliph Umar, an invented story that provided impeccable Islamic pedigree for one of the city's main public buildings. He also wrote that a yard could be found north of the building, and that faucets had been built on the northern wall. The mosque had in total three yards to the north, the south and the east, a well and a cistern. Its minaret was built on the south corner of the basilica, and its remains can still be seen to this day. The mosque complex (Külliye) also consisted of three shops, a cellar and a two-storey building.
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Saint Mark's Basilica, Heraklion
The Basilica of Saint Mark (Greek: Βασιλική του Αγίου Μάρκου; Italian: Basilica di San Marco), also known as Hagios Markos (Greek: Άγιος Μάρκος), is a former Roman Catholic basilica, located in the center of the city of Heraklion, Crete, in Greece. Situated in the Eleftheriou Venizelou Square, the structure was built in 1239, during the Venetian rule of the island, and was primarily used by the local lords and officials of the island.
After the Ottoman conquest of Crete in 1669, it was converted into a mosque, named as the Defterdar Ahmet Pasha Mosque (Greek: Δεφτερδάρ Αχμέτ Πασά Τζαμί, Turkish: Defterdar Ahmet Paşa Camii), in honour of its founder, Ahmet Pasha. The building was used as a mosque until 1915.
The building was restored after 1956 and was repurposed as a public art gallery. It is one of the few former Roman Catholic churches standing in Crete. Architecturally, it is a three-aisled basilica church with an elevated central nave, built in the Gothic style. It has a portico on the western façade entrance. At various stages it has had a bell-tower and a minaret; however, both are no longer extant.
The Basilica of Saint Mark was built in 1239, after the Venetian conquest of Crete following the Fourth Crusade, with the first stone put in place by the Latin bishop of Ierapetra. It was built in Gothic style, in accordance to the Western churches and highlighting the difference of the Latin dogma. It was built in the center of the city of Candia (modern Heraklion), the capital of Crete, across the palace of the Duke of Candia, and was used by the duke and high-ranking officials of the local commune for their needs. The church belonged not to the Latin bishop but to the duke himself, who appointed a prefect or a "chaplain" in charge of the church. The ducal degrees were announced in the entrance of the basilica, which was also the place were the official assumptions of the lords and officials' duties took place. The members of the duke's family were buried in the church's yard.
The first church was severely damaged in the 1303 Crete earthquake, but it was later restored. A stronger still earthquake which hit the island in 1508 damaged Saint Mark anew. In a report dating to 1552 it is mentioned that the northern wall was about to collapse, and thus it was supported with four struts, two of which survive to this day. In a document from 1514 the local duke asked for wooden beams to be transferred from the town of Sfakia for the repair works of the basilica. Those works were completed in 1557, but Saint Mark was once more partially ruined following earthquakes in 1564 and 1595. Renovation works on the church took place in 1599 with the builder Micheles Raptopoulos and the carpenter Giannis Kladas in charge, though after an autopsy in 1625 the northern wall was deemed again to be about to collapse.
During the Cretan War (1645–1669), the bell tower of the basilica was used as an observatory, with its bells ringing every time the bombardment started. Saint Mark's bell tower was different from the others in the city due to its top that was flat and battlemented and also had a clock. After the surrender of Candia to the Ottomans, the Venetians took the bells and other relics away.
After the fall of Candia in 1669, the building was surrendered to Ahmet Pasha, who was the Ottoman defterdar (the minister of finance) from 1661/2 until 1675. Ahmet Pasha converted the Catholic church into a mosque and bought some buildings of the city, including the duke's palace, in order to fund the mosque. The Ottomans demolished the bell tower of Saint Mark and in its place they erected a minaret, while also destroying the murals and frescoes in the interior of the church and throwing away the bone relics to build a mihrab and the minbar. The mosque was named after its founder, Defterdar Ahmet Pasha and remained a mosque for over two centuries until 1915, when it was closed by the Greek state.
The Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi visited Crete in 1669 and wrote that the basilica was situated in the market of Candia, with its façade facing the fountain square (the Fountain of Morosini), and that it was founded by the sultan Mansur in the times of Caliph Umar, an invented story that provided impeccable Islamic pedigree for one of the city's main public buildings. He also wrote that a yard could be found north of the building, and that faucets had been built on the northern wall. The mosque had in total three yards to the north, the south and the east, a well and a cistern. Its minaret was built on the south corner of the basilica, and its remains can still be seen to this day. The mosque complex (Külliye) also consisted of three shops, a cellar and a two-storey building.
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