It was built by order of Hafsa Hatun, the daughter of
Isa Bey Evrenosoğlu, but named after
Hamza Bey, the
Beylerbey of
Rumeli. It was damaged in later earthquakes and fires and was rebuilt in 1620, and a
madrasa was added. Following the
population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the mosque no longer functioned as a religious building and became the property of the
National Bank of Greece. It initially housed various military services, and although it was declared a protected monument in 1926, it was sold in 1928 to private owners. The building was subsequently used for several decades as a cinema, and suffered extensive modifications. The mosque was handed over to the Greek Ministry of Culture in 2006, and restoration work commenced. In 2025,
Lina Mendoni announced that restorations were on track to be completed by mid-2026. The mosque is covered by a dome and it had a
minaret that was removed after 1923. == See also ==