Historical Artefacts from the Ottoman Heritage in Rhodes are being destroyed

A brass band school will be constructed in the court yard of the Murat Reis Mosque and Külliye . According to Zaman, the municipality of Rhodes is preparing to construct a school for brass band and harmonica education in the courtyard of the Murat Reis Külliye, which is at the brink of collaps-ing due to lack of maintenance.

Brass band school to be constructed in the courtyard of the Murat Reis Külliyesi

According to the sign post in front of the Murat Reis Mosque and Külliye, which has been closed for worship since 1972, the site is undergoing renovation worth 900.000 Euros. However, accord-ing to Zaman’s article, instead of restoring the historical building, the municipality is preparing to build a centre for brass band and harmonica education. The Muslim inhabitants of the island are protesting the municipality’s decision on grounds that the Külliye is taken away from them only to be destroyed.

Murat Reis, who gave his name to both the mosque and the külliye was an Ottoman Naval com-mander who took part in the Naval Battle of Preveza under the command of Ottoman Admiral Barbaros Hayrettin against the combined fleet of the Holy League commanded by Andrea Doria. Murat Reis was buried in Rhodes after he had fallen fighting in the fronts. The külliye is also known as a Turkish cemetery for martyrs and comprises many tomb stones of Ottoman soldiers died in bat-tle. According to the article, the island is the home for many historical sites and artefacts left from the Ottomans, who ruled the island for nearly four hundred years. Historical sites and artefacts on UNESCO’s list of World heritage are being taken away from foundation ownerships on grounds of lack of maintenance and other excuses. It is also argued that the Rhodes Foundation for the Protec-tion of Islamic Works is conniving at this destruction.

Habipoğlu: The traces of the Ottoman Empire are trying to be erased

President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe, Halit Habipoğlu has issued the fol-lowing statement: “Rhodes, being one of the leading islands of Greece’s cultural and historical heritage also holds an important place in Ottoman History. Today, an important number of histori-cal sites and artefacts left from the Ottomans are facing serious damage and even destruction. Quite similar to the situation in Western Thrace, historical monuments are taken away from foundations with several excuses and then left to decay or even used for different purposes. Constructing a brass band school in the courtyard of the Murat Reis Külliyesi, first and foremost is a grave disrespect to history. But of course, this not the only problem the Turkish minority living in Rhodes and İs-tanköy are facing. Not being recognized as a minority, their schools and mosques have been shut down for various reasons in the past. Today, there is only one mosque in Rhodes open for prayer. Therefore, Turks living in Rhodes believe that the main intention is to erase the traces of the Otto-man Empire in the island.”