Church of Agios Fanourios (St. Fanourios)

Situated on Agiou Fanouriou street, this church has been and continues to this day to function as a parish church. Efforts made to locate the time of its construction relied on the various frescoes of the church’s interior, since there are remnants of three different periods:
A first series of decorations, dating from the 13th century, bear some significant similitude with frescoes in the cloister church of Archangelos Michail (Archangel Michael), in Tharri, set in the hinterland of the southern quarter of the Island of Rhodes. A second set of frescoes dates from 1355, as suggested by a fading but nonetheless still visible inscription whereas a third set is estimated to have been elaborated later, namely sometime in early 15th century.
The particular interest of this church consists in that, according to tradition, the very cult of Saint Fanourios started on the island of Rhodes. As a matter of fact, there is a possibility that this church had in the past been dedicated to a different saint – probably Archangel Michael or Archangel Gabriel, represented in larger-than-life size, in the northernmost flank of the church.
During the Ottoman era, this church functioned as a mosque, under the name of Peyal Mescit. Later on, during the Italian rule (1912-1943), the Italians had whatever additions made by the Ottomans, removed.