Buyuk Mosque

The Buyuk Mosque is another place of pilgrimage for the Muslims of Cyprus and is one of the many attractions for the visitors of Larnaca.

Built at the end of Athens Avenue, just behind the Larnaca Castle, the Buyuk Mosque is probably the first Ottoman mosque not only in the homonymous province but also in the whole of Cyprus.

The mosque was built in 1835 by Segit Mehmet Elkhak, a Turkish commander of the time, at the site of a Byzantine temple dedicated to the Holy Cross. Another version reports that it was built on the site of a Catholic church dating back to the 13th century, dedicated to Saint Catherine.

The Buyuk Mosque, or the Kebir Mosque or Grand Mosque, is a two storey building with a towering minaret, large windows, five arches at the entrance and an outdoor courtyard. Inside it is divided into three parts with two rows of columns. Outside there are marble tombs with Islamic inscriptions.

The first written report of the Buyuk mosque is located right outside it, in a document of 1747, in which Beqir Pasha, who built the Larnaca Aqueduct and Kamares, says that a public source in the mosque will take water from the aqueduct. The drinking fountain mentioned in the document is located in the northwestern edge of the courtyard and was built in 1748, drawing water from the city’s aqueduct.

It may not have the glory and reputation of Hala Sultan Teke, which is the most important mosque in the whole of Cyprus, but Buyuk mosque deserves the attention of the visitor during his walking tour of the city and after passing from the coastal front of the city.

Buyuk Mosque
Athens Avenue, Larnaca
Cyprus
Free entrance