I pass the Alkazar almost every day. My photography school, Photoglobe, is just a few hundred meters farther along Venizelou Street, and for years the old building at the corner of Egnatia and Venizelou stood behind scaffolding and construction barriers.
When I wrote about the Alkazar for Cosmos Philly, its restoration was still underway. Now the doors have opened, and inside, photographs by Pete Marifoglou offer a look at Thessaloniki as it appeared between 1960 and 1980.
The exhibition, Thessaloniki: The Footprint of Transition (1960–1980), opened on October 11 at the restored Hamza Bey Mosque, better known to locals as the Alkazar. Some of the black-and-white photographs are being shown publicly for the first time.
Marifoglou was born in Thessaloniki in 1944. His family immigrated to New York in 1950, and he grew up in Manhattan. He later studied at the School of Visual Arts and worked on film sets at Andy Warhol’s Factory.
During occasional visits to Greece from the 1960s through the 1980s, he photographed the streets, markets, coffeehouses, and neighborhoods of his hometown. After a long career abroad, he eventually returned to live in Thessaloniki. A selection of his photographic work can be viewed through Galerie Clara Maria Sels in Düsseldorf.
Organized by MOMus, the exhibition explores Thessaloniki’s commercial life, residents’ daily routines, and the place of historic monuments in the changing city. Among the subjects are traditional coffeehouses, the courtyards of Ano Poli, and Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman landmarks surrounded by modern construction.
Built in 1467–1468 as the Hamza Bey Mosque, the Alkazar later became a cinema and was still showing films when Marifoglou photographed Thessaloniki. After decades of closure and subsequent restoration, the building now houses images of the city from that period.
Thessaloniki: The Footprint of Transition (1960–1980) runs through March 31, 2027, at the Hamza Bey Mosque (Alkazar), 49 Egnatia Avenue, Thessaloniki.
The exhibition is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last admission at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free through October 25, 2026. Beginning October 26, general admission is €5, with reduced rates and exemptions for eligible visitors.
Audio guides are available in Greek, English, and Turkish. Further information is available on the MOMus exhibition website.
About the Author
Vasiliki Eleftheriou is a photographer and educator based in Thessaloniki. Her work focuses on people and everyday life through documentary photography and portraiture. She is the founder of Photoglobe, a photography school offering courses and seminars in Thessaloniki and online.