Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque (Yali Mosque or Giali Tzamisi) is the only surviving mosque in Chania, although the city had several erected during the Ottoman ocupation of Crete. After the lighthouse, the temple is the second most important architectural and historic landmark of the port of Chania.
The mosque dates from 1645 when the Turks built it to celebrate Chania’s fall under Ottoman rule. Only the large spherical dome and the main body of the temple still stand, its minaret being demolished in 1939.
In 1923, Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque ceased to operate as a place of worship. The Cretans used it to house the Archaeological Museum of Chania in World War II, and subsequently as a storehouse, folklore museum, and tourist information center. Today, the building is an exhibition hall for local artists.
