Clock Mosque

The Mosque of Peqin or Abdurrahman Pasha Mosque (Albanian Xhamia e Peqinit ) is a mosque in the central Albanian town Peqin.

The mosque is located in the central square of the old town at the important communication route between Durres and Elbasan. The original structure of the dome Mosque was built by Abdurrahman Abdi Pasha in 1666 or 1667. Later destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt in the 1830s by his descendants Cafer Sadik Pasha. A clock tower was built right next to it at the same time. Between a square domed it resembles the Et `hem Bey Mosque in Tirana. The floor plan was 14 feet square and was topped by a high dome. Numerous windows donated a lot of light in the interior. A narrow and very high minaret, whose foundations were partly to the cube was attached. An open porch with numerous columns, wooden roof and red brick stands in front of the entrance.

The mosque was destroyed in 1970, after the dictator Enver Hoxha, Albania was declared an atheist state and Islam as a religion prohibited. Only the clock tower and porch were preserved - the latter served henceforth as a café. On an unknown date was declared a national cultural monument; the clock tower was placed under protection in 1963. After the collapse of the socialist dictatorship of the mosque was established in 1992 with the rebuilding started. The new building was based on the template of the destroyed temple and the inclusion of material that was found in the archives of the Institute of Cultural Heritage. The mosque is still one of the most important mosques in Albania.