The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, carried out an autopsy at the Hamza Bey Mosque, known as Alcazar, in Thessaloniki. The Minister was briefed by the relevant officials of the Ministry of Culture and the contractor on the progress of the project. This is a complex and demanding project, as the morphology of the monument has suffered significant alterations due to the many interventions in various historical periods.

The Hamza Bay Mosque is located in the city centre. It is the oldest Islamic house in Thessaloniki. It is located at the intersection of Egnatia and Venizelou streets. It was built in 1467 by the daughter of the military commander Hamza Bey. Later, in the courtyard of the mosque, the Alkazar cinema operated for decades, the name of which has prevailed in collective memory. The Mosque has been protected under the Archaeological Law as a historical and archaeological monument since 1926.

Lina Mendoni was accompanied by the General Secretary of Culture George Didaskalou, the heads of the Directorates for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments and Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Antiquities Themis Vlachoulis and Julia Papageorgiou, respectively, the head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki City, Elisavet Tsigarida and other officials of the Ministry of Culture.