Splantzia
Near Kastelli and Koum Kapi, northeast of the old town of Chania, is the district of Splantzia. At the heart of the quarter lies the square on which the Church of Saint Nicholas stands. The church was part of an old Dominican monastery, converted during the Ottoman period to the mosque of Sultan Ibrahim. The church also served as a barracks for the Turkish janissaries at that time, simultaneously providing them with a place for their daily prayers.
The church was later renamed "Chiougar Tzamisi", meaning "Mosque of the Ruler". It was where the sword of the Turkish dervish was kept, who was the first to enter the town and whom the Turks considered as sacred and a worker of miracles. The minaret that was added to the church stands out from the others one can find in Chania because it has two circular balconies on the upper part.
Nearby is the Church of Saint Rocco, a round floor plan Venetian church which is no longer in use. St. Rocco was considered the protector of the inhabitants of Chania from cholera, a sign that the plague that had hit Europe in the Middle Ages did not leave Chania unscathed.
During the Turkish occupation, Splantzia was the town's main Turkish quarter where many of its Muslim inhabitants lived. For the Turks, the square in Splantzia was something like the Fountain Square (in the Venetian Harbour) for the Christians, the place where all sorts of social and political events took place.
Near Kastelli and Koum Kapi, northeast of the old town of Chania, is the district of Splantzia. At the heart of the quarter lies the square on which the Church of Saint Nicholas stands. The church was part of an old Dominican monastery, converted during the Ottoman period to the mosque of Sultan Ibrahim. The church also served as a barracks for the Turkish janissaries at that time, simultaneously providing them with a place for their daily prayers.