Built in 1759 by the governor Tzistarakis during the second period Ottoman occupation (1689-1821), the Tzistarakis Mosque is one of the few Muslim monuments remaining in Athens.

The limestone used in its construction was rumoured to have been procured from a column from the Olympieion, but research has shown that a column from Hadrian’s Library was the actual source.

The mosque once housed the Museum of Hellenic Folk Art and still serves as an annex for that museum. In 1966, the mosque was partially restored so that Ibn Saud, the exiled former Saudi Arabia monarch, could worship here.