(10 Apr 2024)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thessaloniki, Greece - 10 April 2024
1. Various aerial shots of the Yeni mosque ++MUTE++
2. Various of prayers
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Taha Abdelgalil, imam:
“The importance as I say it is giving this such initiative send very strong message there is no contradiction between being Muslim and being citizen. So my country, respecting my religion and facilitates what it can do to help me to do my worshipping. So, this is very good, and very important and such initiatives in the future will be accepted and appreciated of course.”
4. Various of prayers
5. Aerial travelling shot of the facade of mosque ++MUTE++
6. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Ismael Bedredin, Greek Muslim:
”We didn’t even know that this mosque existed. Now we saw that here says 'museum' but we didn’t know it. Even though I’ve been living here for 63 years, it’s the first time I see it, I’ve learned it from you. We were told it’s opening its gates for the first time in 100 years, and that is an exceptionally beautiful thing. We came, we prayed for ten minutes and that’s it. Now we are going home, will eat, will drink and our fasting is over.”
7. Aerial  traveling shot from the facade of the mosque ++MUTE++
8. Various of interior decoration of the mosque
9. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Hilmi Yasaroglou, Greek Muslim:
“We are very happy, because this (mosque) wasn’t working and now we came. It’s a pleasure to see the mosque, you worship God. This is called Yeni Tzami if I remember well, isn’t that so? We are very happy and (we wish) everyone to be happy too. May we have peace among us and no hostility. This is everything.”
10. Various of women praying
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Prasherly Anura Dinda, student from Indonesia:
“I don’t think so about the history yet but I’m so happy, I’m so grateful because it’s far from my hometown but here I can feel also the warmth of the Ramadan itself, and I think Greece is really, really nice place because I can not feel lonely to be here.”
12. Various of mosque

STORYLINE:
The Stars of David adorning the balconies along the top of the building catch the first glimmers of the dawn light as worshipers pass through the gates of the historic Yeni Cami, or New Mosque, for morning prayers.

Wednesday marked the first time since the 1920s that the building, originally built for a community of Jewish converts to Islam at a time when the city of Thessaloniki was a cultural melting pot within the Ottoman Empire, is being used for mass prayers during Eid al Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the month-long fasting period of Ramadan.

“We didn’t even know this mosque existed,” said Ismael Bedredin, a member of Greece’s Muslim minority who was among about 70 worshipers at the morning prayers.

“Even though I’ve been living here for 63 years, it’s the first time I see it. …. We were told it’s opening its gates for the first time in 100 years, and that is an exceptionally beautiful thing.”

Built in 1902 by Italian architect Vitaliano Poselli, the landmark building tucked down a narrow street the center of the city, stopped being used as a mosque in the 1920s.

The community it was built for - Jewish converts to Islam known as Donmeh - were caught up in the 1923 forcible population exchange between Greece and Turkey, when Muslims living in Greece were sent to Turkey in exchange for Orthodox Christians living in Turkey.

Like many mosques in Greece, the building’s use changed several times over the decades.



"This is very good, and very important and such initiatives in the future will be accepted and appreciated of course,” he added.











Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ] ​​
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]


You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть