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Greece’s Culture Ministry is preparing to take over the restoration and site arrangement works at the Ottoman-era Aslan Pasha Mosque and its tomb in the northwestern city of Ioannina, after the municipality failed to complete the project within the planned time frame.
According to local media reports, the ministry decided to step in directly after the Municipality of Ioannina was unable to finish the work as scheduled. Epirusonline.gr reported that a program contract for the project is set to be signed between the Culture Ministry, the Epirus regional administration and the Municipality of Ioannina, laying out a new framework for the long-delayed works.
The planned intervention will be financed by the Culture Ministry, which is expected to provide €110,000 (over $127,500) for the restoration and landscaping works. The project is aimed at both the mosque and the surrounding area, with officials targeting completion in around six months.
The move marks a shift in responsibility from the local municipality to the central government, as authorities try to move the project forward more directly and keep it on track.
Built in 1618 by Aslan Pasha, the sanjak bey, or provincial Ottoman governor, of Trikala, the mosque remains one of the historic structures that can still be seen from many parts of Ioannina due to its elevated position within the city.
Although the mosque is closed to worship today, the site continues to serve a public role. The Municipality of Ioannina currently uses the building as an Ethnographic Museum, while the wider complex also includes a library, a madrasa, or Islamic school, and the tomb of Aslan Pasha.
The restoration plans cover not only the mosque itself but also the tomb and the surrounding setting, pointing to a broader effort to preserve the character of the historic complex as a whole.
With the Culture Ministry now preparing to assume direct control, the project is expected to enter a new phase intended to bring long-awaited conservation works to completion.
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