Saint Nicholas

Agios Nikolaos is a church in the central square of Drama. It was formerly known as Eski Mosque. The construction of the Eski Mosque, according to historians, is estimated at the end of the 17th century, because since then the city of Drama began to expand outside the Byzantine walls of which a part of them is preserved today. And of course, when we say outside the walls, we also mean the current central square and of course the current Agios Nikolaos, formerly Eski Mosque.

During the second Bulgarian occupation (1916 – 1918) the Bulgarians demolished the minaret and turned the mosque into a church dedicated to Saint George. After the exchange of populations and the arrival of refugees in Drama, a priest, a refugee from Russia, Efstathios Kyriakidis, on his own initiative took down the crescent moon from the dome of the mosque and placed a cross in its place. He also added a bell. The next day he performed the liturgy in the mosque and thus dedicated it to be used as a church, which he himself dedicated to Agios Nikolaos. In 1960, conversions began to be made to the temple, in order to eliminate the features of Muslim architecture and especially the pointed arches of the windows. This was followed by the addition of the two spires in 1967 and the niche of the sanctuary in 1970. In 1991 the church was renovated, painted with icons and acquired its current form.