In the heart of the old town of Drama, Where time seems to be rolling differently, the restored Ottoman mosque is transformed once again into a ark of culture. Currently hosts the sixth in a row report by the Benaki Museum, entitled “A thousand and a forms, paintings and shapes”, which is a journey to the sophisticated spiritual art of the Islamic world.
As the visitor passes the threshold of the mosque, the cool of the stone, the filtered light from the arched windows and the simple but imposing architecture, create a sense of sacred silence. In this environment, the about 60 objects of the exhibition are not only on display, but travel the visitor to the rich history of Islamic art in many countries of the Arab world and beyond.
Calligraphic excerpts from the Koran, elaborate ceramic, metal utensils with arabians, jewelry from the 9th to the 19th century, Everything reveals the deep relationship of the Islamic world with symmetry, geometry and spiritual reflection. It is not an art of representation, but of geometric performance. Every drawing, every Arabic word, every surface conveyed a sense of absolute order and sacredness.
The report, curated with a special Care from Art History and curator of Islamic Art of the Benaki Museum Mina Moraitou, highlights the common aesthetic and cultural roots of areas extending from Persia to Andalusia, Spain. The truly impressive architectural design of the exhibition belongs to Natalia Boura, while the original music heard in Santirvan as part of the exhibition is by Elias Pantelia.
During A tour of the reporters in the report, Mrs Moraitou said, Among other things, that “the base of the Islamic collection of the Benaki Museum comes from the founder of the Museum itself, Antonis Benakis, who formed a very important collection, initially as he lived in Egypt and when he returned and settled in Greece in 1927, he continued to exist in 1927.
Mrs Moraitou also pointed out that ‘Islamic Art It is the art created in the places where the religion of Islam dominates. But this does not necessarily make it religious, because there is a very large piece of cosmic art, which is also shown by objects. “
“Islamic art, as a term, is difficult,” Ms Moraitou continued, “because it covers countries and peoples, who have no other common element, besides religion. It is about as if we had a Christian art exhibition and having had works from Greece, from France, from England, America, Ethiopia. We have many peoples, ‘Arabs, Persians, Turks, but when we talk about their art, There are some elements that are stable and these elements are highlighted. “
The modules and exhibits of the collection
One of the most impressive exhibits of the collection is a 14th -century double door from Egypt, decorated with arabic and inscriptions from a cutting Christian church. However, the exhibit that dominates on site and is directly connected with the founder of the Benaki Museum, It is an embroidered cotton cover, with rich herbal decoration and poem lyrics, called Suzani.
Mrs Moraitou said it was a bed cover, noting: “The oldest dates back to the 18th century. Most in the 19th century. This is one of the first items that Antonis Benakis bought. He loved fabrics very much. ” As he explained, the cover was bought in Alexandria. It was divided into three pieces and was made by three different women. Each one stitched a piece in her house and when they were finished, the pieces were placed next to each other. The cover comes from The city of Bukhara of Uzbekistan and there are lyrics by Jalal Ak-Din Rumi poem, Mystical and poet of the 13th century. The lyrics are as follows: “I, I came to your nest … / I came with thirsty lips and a fiery heart to the water of life.”
The report is essentially divided into four sections: The first is dedicated to calligraphy, the second to geometry, the third in Arabian and the plant jewelry, while the fourth and last in iconography.
The exhibits of the latest section include a mug of gold -plated decoration with themes inspired by western painting, such as portraits of European nobles and female forms that hold an infant, reminiscent of similar representations of the Virgin Mary. The mug comes from 19th century Iran. Forms often wear European costumes, an element that emphasizes the close relationship between Iran and Europe in the 19th century, when art is influenced by the growing introduction of European objects.
This exhibition is not only aimed at experts or lovers of Islamic art, but to every visitor who seeks to see the world through different shapes, literally and metaphorically. It is a reminder that art, even the farthest time or culturally, can speak in the heart of modern man.
By 23 November 2025, the Santirvan Mosque, In the heart of the urban center of Drama, she invites art travelers to stand for a while In a ceramic plate, a jewelry, an inscribed basin and left in their silent narrative. Because through “a thousand and a forms”, what is ultimately revealed is not only Islamic art, but the need for man for beauty and overrun.
It should be emphasized that all visitors are given a very elegant guide for free with the brief presentation of the exhibits, as is the case with all the exhibitions organized by RayCap, based in Drama, in collaboration with the Benaki Museum and hosted at the Santirvan Mosque.
The Santirvan Mosque, Ark of History and Culture
The choice of Santirvan Mosque as a place of hospitality of the exhibition proved once again ideal. A place that carries the historical multiplicity of the area: Ottomans, Balkans, Christians, Muslims, Jews. The mosque, after the polite sponsorship and the restoration by the high -tech RayCap company, now operates as a place of culture, a bridge between the past and the present, between the Greek and the wider eastern culture.
This stone -built building, in center of Drama which is a palpable of the recent history of the acrimonious city, it was an Ottoman mosque, with the minaret dating to the second half of the 15th century. According to the entrance inscription, it was renovated in 1806 and remained as a mosque until 1922, referred to as a Santirvan Mosque.
After the Asia Minor Disaster, from 1922 to 1927, he hosted refugee families, and from 1927 to 1981 he was the site of the historic local newspaper “Tharros”. In 1983 he was declared a preserved monument, but over the years and with the fall of the roof, he was destroyed.
In 2012, it was bought by RayCap, which completely restored the monument to impressive frescoes by transforming it into a cultural site and digitized the Archive of the “Tharros” newspaper with free access to everyone on the file website.