Giali Tzami Mosque or Yiali Tzamissi is a fine example of Islamic art of the Renaissance in Chania.
It was the first mosque built in Crete after the Turkish conquest of the city of Chania in 1649, in honor of the first garrison commander of Chania, Küçük Hasan.
The mosque is a cubic building covered by a large hemispherical cupola supported by four ornate stone-made arches.
Its west and north side are surrounded by an arcade covered by six small cupolas.
The Mosque Küçük (meaning “small”) Hasan or Yali Hassan Mosque (meaning seaside Mosque), as it is commonly known, was the work of an Armenian architect who had constructed a similar one in the village Spaniako in the county of Selino.
The mosque, in the courtyard of which there were palm trees and the tombs of pashas and janizaries, ceased operating in 1923 when the last Muslims left Crete at the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey.
Recent research by 13th Ephorat of Byzantine Antiquities has shown that the mosque was built on the site of a small church.
It has previously hosted the Archeological Museum of Chania, after many adventures due to war, with the care of the famous professor Nik. V. Tomadakis.
Later on, it was used as a storage place, a Museum of Folk Art, a Tourist Information Office and recently, as a space for exhibitions and events.
Although Giali Tzami has been renovated, its small minaret was demolished in the early 20th century.
