MOSQUE-CHURCH (GÁZI KÁSZIM PASA DZSÁMIJA)

This curious Mecca-facing edifice is the dzsami (mosque) of Gházi Kásim Pacha, built from the stones of a pre-Turkish medieval church. After some minor restoration work, the mosque was converted into a Christian church, and the crescent of the enormous green dome was surmounted by a cross. Inside, you can still admire the finely decorated mihrab, a vestige of its Islamic past, as well as calligraphic inscriptions from the Koran adorning the walls. Two ancient basins, once used in the bath of Pasha Gházi Kásim, now serve as holy water fonts, testifying to the reuse of architectural elements over the centuries.

The building, now a Christian place of worship, remains a precious symbol of the dialogue between civilizations and religions.

Below, on the same square, are the Trinity Column, a masterpiece of flamboyant Hungarian Baroque and a symbol of the Christian faith reborn after Ottoman domination, and the equestrian statue of János Hunyadi. János Hunyadi was a remarkable Hungarian army leader, a great fighter against the Turks and one of the best strategists in ^15th-century Europe, embodying Christian resistance against the Ottoman invaders.

You can buy a combined ticket for the church-mosque, the cathedral with its episcopal treasury and the episcopal palace. These emblematic sites tell the story of Pécs' Eastern and Western influences.