Eid prayers held in a historic former mosque in northern Greece for the first time in 100 years

By COSTAS KANTOURIS
Associated Press

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A building in the Greek city of Thessaloniki that was originally erected for a community of Jewish converts to Islam is being used for mass prayers during the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday. It’s the first time since the 1920s that Islamic prayers can be heard in the historic Yeni Cami, or New Mosque, in Thessaloniki. 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. Restored in 1986, the building, which features clock towers on its corners, now serves as a municipal cultural exhibition venue.