Situated at the end of Athens Avenue just opposite Larnaka (Larnaca) Fort, Buyuk Mosque is perhaps the first Ottoman mosque in Cyprus.
The Ottomans landed in Larnaka (Larnaca) in 1570, meeting with little resistance from the Venetians who chose to fight the Ottoman armies only in Lefkosia (Nicosia) and Ammochostos (Famagusta). Using Larnaka as their supply and naval base, the Ottomans conquered the whole of the island in 1571.
Before it became a mosque, Buyuk Tzami was a Catholic church dedicated to Santa Katerina and was probably built in the 13th or14th century. The oldest reference to its existence is found in a 1747 document in which Bekir Pasha, who built Larnaka aqueduct, specified that a public fountain at the mosque should receive water from the aqueduct. This public fountain still survives outside the mosque.
Address: Leoforos Athenon, Larnaka
Operating Period: All year round
